Campaigners march through Lanark urging council not to close care home
McClymont House is earmarked for closure to close a funding gap
Families of care home residents in South Lanarkshire are urging the council not to go through with a planned closure.
Campaigners hoping to save McClymont House care home took part in a march this morning, hoping to save the facility.
The closure comes as the council looks to plug a funding gap and would see residents and staff moved into other homes in the area.
Emma Koubayssi’s grandmother lives at McClymont house, and she says it’s “really, really difficult” to imagine what would happen if it was lost.
She added: “This is my grandmother’s home, and this is the home that many, many people in the community want to be their last home, so they might not be here now, but the plan is for them to be here in the future.
“It’s a caring, incredible facility, and when my nana first came here, she thought it was a hotel.”
Family members were joined by unions and members of the community as they walked through Lanark on Saturday morning, calling for the home to be saved.
Emma described staff as being like “extended family” and praised the level of care residents receive at McClymont House.
She said: “I just can’t really think about it because it’s so, so incredibly stressful to try and think of what care and support is available, because when we looked seven years ago, there was absolutely no option for my Nana.
“The quality of care was just so much less compared to what we’ve got here, and so there’s going to have to be a lot of heartache and sacrifices with the next chapter, and whatever’s next for us all.”
Campaigners met with Social Care Minister Maree Todd earlier this week, after sending a letter to Health Minister Neil Gray hoping to discuss the closures.
South Lanarkshire’s Integrated Joint Board (IJB), which is responsible for the region’s health and social care, made the decision to close the house to bridge a funding gap.
A spokesperson for the IJB said: “Difficult decisions are being taken across the public sector and across social care in Scotland.
“No one has entered care services with a view to proposing the closure of facilities, and the gravity of this proposal and then decision weighed heavily on all concerned.
“It is essential that the context is understood, however. Continuing local financial pressures mirror the challenges that social care is under nationally.
“The IJB recently set out a way forward to maintain balance over the next financial year in the face of a recurring £33million gap.
“There are no easy decisions when it comes to bridging this sort of deficit.
“A number of options were considered and rejected because of the consequences for large numbers of vulnerable people.”