Gloucester 36-bed care home has only one resident

Wheatridge Court is currently only occupied by one resident

Questions have been raised over why a city's 36-bed care home has only one person living in it.

Wheatridge Court, in Shergar Close, Abbeydale, Gloucester, is run by Gloucestershire County Council.

Councillor Andrew Gravells said it showed a disconnect between the NHS and the council, adding if the unit was used at capacity it could allow more people to be discharged from hospital.

The council chairman said it was an important point that needed looking at.

Speaking at the corporate overview and scrutiny committee on 27 September, Mr Gravells asked council chiefs why the site is underused, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

As chairman of the health overview and scrutiny committee he said he is "constantly briefed" about how the lack of adequate care packages are leading to a delay in patients being discharged from hospital.

'Delayed discharges'

He added that a lot of time has been spent "looking at system flow" for Gloucestershire's two main hospitals.

"One of the issues around delayed discharges is because it's considered there is not the right accommodation for people to move into," he said.

"The disconnect here is that in my own division for example, we have an adult social care facility called Wheatridge Court which has 36 units of accommodation available and currently, and for quite a while, has been occupied by one resident."

Mr Gravells added that it was not the first time he had raised the issue with council chiefs and asked when people could expect to see better use of the unoccupied units.

Council head of building services, Neil Corbett, said while he regularly enquires about future needs regarding the property, he would have to defer the issue to colleagues in the service.

Chairman Alan Preest said it was an important point and suggested it might be worth adding to a future agenda item.

Councillor Lisa Spivey said she would take it back to the adult social care and communities scrutiny committee which she chairs.

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