Birmingham care home closures achieved positive results for older people

A major study of the closure of care home beds across Birmingham has shown that for the majority of older people affected the process did not have a negative impact on their lives. 77% of respondents suggested that life had got better or stayed the same as a result of resettlement The authors from the University of Birmingham's Health Services Management Centre (HSMC) examined Birmingham City Council's closure of 14 local authority care homes (offering accommodation for around 237 older people) and linked day centres, as well as the transfer of services to new special care centres and other forms of residential care. Extra Care Housing to support more independent living was also offered as an option for individuals. Professor Jon Glasby who led the study comments: "With the recent collapse of Southern Cross the issue of managing resettlement of older people has come into sharp focus. This was one of the largest closures of local authority care homes in Europe, so many of the lessons from Birmingham apply elsewhere. The received wisdom is that closing services and moving older people elsewhere can be very risky. Whilst the closure of homes in Birmingham was distressing at times for staff and service users, our results suggest that you can minimise potential negative impacts by planning resettlement well and carrying it out sensitively.