Gray calls for full inquiry into closure of Lothians care home

Published on Tuesday 25 November 2008 08:51

SCOTTISH Labour leader Iain Gray has demanded a full public inquiry into the controversial closure of a Lothians nursing home.

He said there are still many unanswered questions about the closure of Cockenzie House Nursing Home this year, following claims from a local GP and relatives that the stress and disruption of moving could have contributed to the deaths of 21 elderly residents.

The home closed in April, following a ban on admissions imposed by the Care Commission. East Lothian Council rejected owner Jim McDonald's offer to lease the home from him and instead moved residents elsewhere.

The council's action has already been criticised in the independent Daniels Report last month.

But Mr Gray, who represents the county, has written to Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon, asking her to set up a public inquiry.

He said: "The message I'm getting from local people is that there are still many unanswered questions. Residents, their relatives and local GPs were all strongly supportive of the home staying open. Yet it closed despite their concerted efforts to save it. I believe that there are wider lessons which must be learned from the Cockenzie House closure, which is why I think an inquiry is justified."

The Daniels Report had failed to address many of the main concerns, he said. The closure of Cockenzie House had resulted in moving many residents to a nearby care home, which also had a Care Commission Improvement notice against it. Most of the others were moved to the new council-owned Greenfield Park in Musselburgh.

Mr Gray said: "The cost of leasing, refurbishment and staffing of that facility was extremely expensive and contributed to a 1.5 million overspend in the adult social care budget in the first three months of this financial year.

"Why is our care system so fragmented that the Care Commission, the owner of the home, the residents and East Lothian Council all insist that they do not wish the home to close, yet that is the outcome?

"However, the unanswered question which most troubles my constituents is whether the moving of residents from Cockenzie House and the consequent upset and disruption hastened the death of any of those residents."

He said he hoped to arrange a meeting with Ms Sturgeon to explain the case for an inquiry and discuss the wider implications in the rest of Scotland.

But a spokeswoman for East Lothian Council said they were already improving adult social care as a result of the Daniels Report.

She said: "We believe that, through careful consideration of the independent review, we have identified the lessons to be learned from the circumstances of the closure. We are now in the process of implementing the report's eight recommendations."