Birmingham care home closures achieved positive results for older people (UK)

Steve Hards

Contrary to recieved wisdom, it is possible to close care homes for older people without sending them into a spiral of decline – if it is done well and if starting from low quality provision. This is the finding of a report published by the University of Birmingham’s Health Services Management Centre (HSMC) which examined Birmingham City Council’s closure of 14 local authority care homes (involving 237 older people). There were a range of new services and options put in place, but any role played by telecare [we bet there was one] is not mentioned in the press release.