SOCIAL services chiefs should be concentrating on putting in place a strategy for the future of care instead of trying to close Bodlondeb care home, a campaigner for the home has insisted.

Elwyn Williams, the vice-chair of the steering group formed by the Save Bodlondeb campaign, insisted that there was an urgent need for a long-term plan for care services in both north Ceredigion and across the whole county.

Ceredigion County Council wants to close the Penparcau home claiming that it is not cost effective, would cost too much to refurbish and that it doesn’t meet room size guidelines.

Mr Williams, whose brother is a resident at the home, said predictions that there will be a greater need for care services meant it was important that a plan for the future was in place before any closure of facilities was considered.

Mr Williams also said that the Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales should be asked to give current homes such as Bodlondeb time to be able to meet guidelines on the size of rooms for residents and what facilities must be in place.

He said: “Ceredigion council should work out a policy to meet the demand over the next 10 years, not just the current demand.

“Bodlondeb should not be closed until there is a new service up and running for the elderly.

“The council should also ask for a 10-year period to be able to comply with the CSSIW regulations.”

While council chiefs have insisted that a change in the council’s eligibility threshold for social services several years ago is not responsible for the reduced number of residents in Bodlondeb and other council-operated homes, Mr Williams cast doubt on that.

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