ANY consultation on closing the Bodlondeb care home in Penparcau should be scrapped so a long-term plan for social care in the Aberystwyth area can be drawn up first, Ceredigion’s Assembly Member has insisted.

A report released by the county council revealed that attempts to find a private company to take over the home and run it as a dementia nursing care facility had failed. Just one tender had been received and it is believed it didn’t pass the authority’s financial tests.

A back-up option of running a joint mental health facility there in partnership with Hywel Dda Health Board has also collapsed, after the health board walked away from discussions.

This has left the council claiming that the only feasible option is closure, because renovation and refurbishment or building a new replacement home would both cost over £3m.

But AM Elin Jones insisted that a consultation into the closure of Bodlondeb shouldn’t even begin until a more detailed plan for care in north Ceredigion is drawn up.

She said: “It’s clear to me that the Aberystwyth area needs a long-term plan for elderly care. The council should consult with Aberystwyth people on such a plan first, before considering the future of Bodlondeb.

“There needs to be a plan which addresses every aspect of care - residential and nursing, public and private, home care and extra care, dementia care.

“Other towns in Ceredigion are more advanced in planning for the future, such as Tregaron and Cardigan.

“The priority now is a long-term plan for elderly care in Aberystwyth and a closure proposal for Bodlondeb should be put on hold until such a plan is in place.

“Ad hoc, short-term decisions are not appropriate for elderly care."

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