Care home consultation

In order to capture residents’ views,  Surrey County Council (SCC) has opened a care home consultation survey. This is to review the future of eight residential care homes for older people, In its press release, it stated that “This is a listening exercise, and our overriding priority is the wellbeing of the residents and staff at the homes who we want to involve fully and sensitively. We welcome the views and opinions of everyone, and any responses received will help us take into account the public’s views when making a decision“.

Which care homes are being reviewed?

The following older people’s care homes are the subject of this consultation. Click each bullet point for the survey fact sheet for each care home:

• Abbeywood, Wharf Road, Ash Vale, GU12 5AX
• Barnfield, Upfield, Horley, RH6 7LA
• Birchlands, Barley Mow Road, Englefield Green, TW20 0NP
• Chalkmead, Deans Road, Merstham, Redhill, RH1 3HE
• Heathside, Coley Avenue, Woking, GU22 7BT
• Keswick, East Park Avenue, Great Bookham, KT23 3ND
• Meadowside, Knowle Park Avenue, Staines, TW18 1AN
• Orchard Court, East Grinstead Road, Lingfield, RH7 6ET

Have your say on the future of our care homes

SCC has asked that residents submit their responses by 5 January 2022, which can be completed online here: https://www.surreysays.co.uk/adult-social-care-and-public-health/op-draft/consultation/subpage.2021-09-16.1931167665.

Why is the care home consultation being held?

These eight care homes were built by Surrey County Council in the 1970s and early 1980s, who initially ran the homes before their management was transferred to Anchor Hanover Trust in the late 1990s on a long-term contract. On 31 March 2019, the contract with Anchor Hanover Trust ended, and the council took back the responsibility for operating the care homes. Reviewing the modern care needs of its residents, these care homes do not meet the advanced or complex conditions to deliver more specialist residential care. Since taking back the eight care homes, it became apparent that the condition of the buildings had become a concern. The council, therefore, commissioned the independent property surveyor, Savills, to undertake building surveys for each care home. The surveys identified key issues about the internal condition of the buildings. When built, the homes met the needs and expectations of the time, but the bedrooms are reported to be small. It is a challenge to accommodate the additional equipment, such as hoists or other mobility aids, that many people need to safely get in and out of bed or move around the building. Most bedrooms lack access to any en-suite facilities, meaning bathrooms and toilets are shared by the people living in that area of the home.

The building condition surveys concluded that each building is reaching an age where operating costs are higher due to wear and tear with the potential failure of the buildings’ infrastructure and equipment. The maintenance, or repair, of these problems, would be a considerable cost to SCC. The surveys also considered the costs of knocking down and rebuilding each home, however, This option has been excluded as the sites are not large enough to build a care home of a similar size that is able to meet modern expectations.

Accessibility to the consultation

If you would like to receive this care home consultation survey in another language, large print, or you need help understanding the information, you can speak to the Service Delivery Team

Telephone: 01372 832257 (Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm)
SMS: 07527 182861 (For the deaf and hard of hearing only.  Please start your message with ‘care home survey’)
Email: servicedelivery.info@surreycc.gov.uk
Post: Mr C Hastings, Area Director, Service Delivery Management Team, Fairmount House, Bull Hill, Leatherhead. Surrey. KT22 7AH

Online consultation: https://www.surreysays.co.uk/adult-social-care-and-public-health/op-draft/consultation/subpage.2021-09-16.1931167665