Hampshire elderly care home closures given the green light

Bishops Waltham House, which offers residential, respite and reablement care to 36 older people, has been earmarked for closure

A council's plans to close seven care homes for the elderly and invest more money in specialist nursing accommodation have been approved.

Hampshire County Council will close the homes it described as outdated, and will spend £173m on refurbished and new nursing accommodation.

A public consultation received over 700 responses, most opposing the closures.

The authority said: "Looking ahead, our homes will concentrate on specialist care for those with the greatest need."

Liz Fairhurst, the council's lead for adult social care, said: "We are extremely proud of our care homes and of the quality of the care they provide.

"However, the reality is that some of our buildings are far from ideal with small rooms, limited space for essential equipment and no en-suite facilities.

"This is not the way we want to deliver care in future and why things need to change - so that we can offer people support with the maximum dignity possible."

'Uncertainty'

Under the plans, Bishops Waltham House, Solent Mead in Lymington, Green Meadows in Waterlooville, as well as Westholme in Winchester and Malmsbury Lawn in Havant, would close.

Two care homes which have been temporarily closed since 2021 - Copper Beaches in Andover and Cranleigh Paddock in Lyndhurst - would not reopen.

Emsworth House in Emsworth, Oakridge House in Basingstoke and Ticehurst in Aldershot would be modernised and expanded to change the type of care provided.

The new homes will focus on short-term support and complex dementia care, which the council said it hoped would prevent hospital admissions.

The overall number of beds available would increase from 900 to 1,000.

Families fighting against the proposals previously said they "haven't been listened to" during the public consultation.

Ms Fairhurst said she understood the "uncertainty that this decision will create for some residents and their families, particularly in those homes that will now be closing".

She added: "They will be assured of the full support of our expert care teams who have proven experience and expertise in assisting people to move - indeed, they support many hundreds of moves each year as people's care needs change."

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