ePetition details

We urge Southampton City Council to:

• Review the decision to halt fire safety and building improvement works at Holcroft House that were already in progress, up until January 2023, and check that due process was followed in stopping the works.

• Call senior council officers to the relevant public council meeting to explain to elected members and the public why it was deemed necessary to halt the agreed fire safety and building improvement works at Holcroft House.
• Follow the Best Interest Assessments for each resident at Holcroft House.
• Allow residents to stay in Holcroft House as previously decided and in accordance with their best interest and risk assessments while the necessary works are undertaken on a phased basis, giving residents consistency and security in the medium and long-term and to preserve the longevity of the care home for future residents.
• Use the income from the sale of the Glen Lee site to fund the necessary works at Holcroft House.
• Complete an Equality and Safety Impact Assessment to ensure that any decisions do not cause detriment to or discriminate against groups of people with protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010 and that the Council complies with the Public Sector Equality Duty.
• Provide the rationale for the permanent closure of Holcroft House along with alternatives to the closure with the associated costings for the Council and public to consider.
• Forecast the financial impact to residents and their families, as well as Southampton City Council in the scenario that Holcroft House was closed and where residents could not afford to fund their care. We understand that private residential care costs more than Local Authority residential care and in the long-term, and where residents don’t/won’t have money to pay for their care, Southampton City Council have to pay. This will put increased cost pressure onto the Council and will put current residents, and those who would’ve been resident in the future, in a worse financial position.
• Check the financial figures used to inform the closure proposal, and compare the cost of care provided by the Council with equivalent care packages (including the amount of contact time between carers and residents) provided by private care providers to ensure the accuracy of projected costs and savings.

The NHS Southampton City Clinical Commissioning Group and Southampton City Council’s Health and Wellbeing Strategy 2017-2025 https://www.southampton.gov.uk/media/g5ipm3yf/health-and-wellbeing-strategy_tcm63-391952.pdf states that one of their principles is to “Deliver services that are personalised, safe, effective and value for money”. We believe that keeping Holcroft House open is in line with this principle, but the closure is not.

Retaining Holcroft House also contributes to the availability of affordable housing for older people in the city of Southampton.
We also believe that keeping Holcroft House open and undertaking the relevant maintenance and safety work is necessary in the fulfilment of the Council's Corporate Plan 2022-30 https://www.southampton.gov.uk/media/ugshrc2w/corporate-plan-final-51222.pdf Key commitments in the Council’s Corporate Plan that are relevant to residents and employees at Holcroft House are under the heading of ‘Strong Foundations for Life’. The Council has stated that:

• “We are committed to reducing inequalities including in wages, earnings, health and wellbeing.”
• “We will work to improve the health and wellbeing of local people, focusing on tackling health inequalities. Helping to facilitate life-long learning and skills development will encourage higher-skilled, higher-paid jobs for Southampton residents.”
• “We will protect and promote the physical and mental health and wellbeing of everyone who lives, works and learns in Southampton.”
• “Southampton residents earn on average less than those that work in the city, but live outside it. We are committed to… ensure more Southampton residents have higher-skilled, higher-paid jobs in the city, by supporting them throughout their lives through education, skills development and jobs…”

This ePetition ran from 28/06/2023 to 20/09/2023 and has now finished.

263 people signed this ePetition.