Care Homes have nursing beds…. A Care Home near Cranleigh states that as well as residents’ rooms they have Nursing beds “For health issues that need the ongoing attention of nurses, we provide 24-hour personal specialised nursing care led by our own registered nurses chosen for their care compassion and experience.”
What has happened to CVHT’s planning application? When Cranleigh Society members met with your Waverley – 30 September – we asked about the progress of the planning application for the Care home with “community” beds plus the accommodation block for health related workers. The planning application is WA/2018/1966 . It was sent into Waverley last year and still has not been examined by Councillors – why? The people of Cranleigh and surroundings villages really need to know what is going on with the project.
Waverley explained “The planning application for the Care Home & Accommodation Block is presently being considered and is regarded as unacceptable in its present form. As a regular submission, it will be subject to the full range of policy requirements and planning obligations” –
We asked for clarification – WBC said The plans are being recommended for refusal because of many planning issues – access, parking, affordable housing…… So they are not ready to put it to Councillors yet.
It was agreed too that the Councillors – many of whom have little idea about the convoluted history so far – need to catch up and will need many things to be explained to them.
WBC councillors for Cranleigh West are – Cllrs Liz Townsend and Patricia Ellis. (for Cranleigh East it’s Richard Cole, Mary Foryszewski & Ruth Reed). Liz T is on the Joint Planning Committee and Patricia E is not, but can be called as a substitute and like anyone can request to speak at a JPC meeting. There is an expression – “call it in” which means that Councillors in a place (Ward) can ask for a public committee meeting – Joint Planing Committee (JPC) – to examine planning applications. Liz and Patricia would be representing the public of Cranleigh and villages, who raised so much money! if they were to call it in. But if the Officers explain that the application does not meet planning rules and regulations this might not happen – until the applicants provide further documents to make the application meet planning rules. OK so far?
Meanwhile – people in Cranleigh have been expressing their grave doubts about the morality of the scheme and about whether it would ever perform in the way envisaged and explained here – WBC planning application document provided by CVHT.
There are those who feel that a sum of money equal to that raised by the Charity should be found and given to the existing hospital somehow. The reasons include feeling that the money raised has been misused. Also that the proposed double building project is massive over -development of the Paddock especially now that there are so many other users on the same bit of road at Knowle Lane.
CVHT cannot publicly tell the public what is going on until the planning application has been viewed and passed, because they are in partnership with the business HC-One. This is seen as correct and reasonable apparently by WBC advisors.
In the meantime the NHS has reviewed its situation and decided that the A&E departments are over stretched by people who can walk in and need some minor injuries or illnesses looked at urgently. They want all of England to have Urgent Care Centres. You can read their report of 2017 here on NHS England’s web site. They say that our Clinical Commissioning Group must make decisions about where Urgent Care is sited by this Christmas. The press has recently reported that Haslemere Minor Injuries unit is not under threat of closure, and we understand it may be upgraded to an Urgent Care Centre. There are discreet differences – some problems can only be seen at the UCC. Urgent Care Centres have doctors present, Minor Injuries Units do not. If you have sickness & diarrhoea or a pregnancy related problem you need UCC.
To date the NHS has always said they would not support new local hospital beds in small places like Cranleigh. However the Royal Surrey stated recently that can’t handle any more A&E visits. Policy changes so often who knows what it will be next?
Did you know that in years past when Cranleigh Hospital was available to deal with sick and injured children and adults the service was not costing the NHS any extra? The nurses were there to look after people in the beds. The GPs were on call at the Practice so they popped into the hospital when called, for no extra charge to the NHS. So the NHS downgraded the services we could find in Cranleigh – but thanks to the League of Friends working tirelessly with the NHS some services are now in place in the old hospital – but no beds – ever.
A Guide to Funding the Cost of Care here
HC-One care homes link here
An HC-One care home states – “….Home Manager makes sure that all Residents receive the kindest possible care. Our extensively trained team will deliver all the nursing, specialist care and support services that your loved one requires. Personalised care plans consider not only medical, personal and dietary needs, but also the individual’s likes and dislikes, religious preferences, and suggestions from family members that might make their stay with us that little bit more enjoyable.”
If the planning application goes to the Joint Planning Committee (JPC) the Councillors will have to consider the Planning application, not the CVHT fund raising or the private nursing home company’s profits. The public can ask to speak at the meeting and can watch it on line on the day.
The next JPC is on 27th November at 6:30 in the Godalming WBC offices. The Agenda has not yet been publicised.
If you want to see the latest at the NHS decision making machine try here Guildford & Waverley Clinical Commissioning Group
