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CLOSURE OF SILVERDENE CARE HOME, PENKRIDGE

                                                                                                             Have your Say       
17 February 2009

Below is the PUBLIC NOTICE issued by South Staffordshire District Council on the 6 February 2009 and published in the Express & Star Newspaper.  PLEASE NOTE THE LAST DATE FOR OBJECTIONS IS NOW 5PM ON 27 FEBRUARY 2009.   The Plan showing the land can be viewed HERE
 

PUBLIC NOTICE

SOUTH STAFFORDSHIRE DISTRICT COUNCIL

 LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT 1972  SECTION 123

 DISPOSAL OF OPEN SPACE ADJOINING SILVERDENE,

TILDESLEY CLOSE, PENKRIDGE

 South Staffordshire District Council under the provisions of Section 123 of the Local Government Act, 1972, intends to dispose of an area of land (being open space) adjoining Silverdene, Tildesley Close, Penkridge, Staffordshire, to South Staffordshire Housing Association for a nominal consideration for the purpose of an extra care housing development. The land is to the north of and adjoining Silverdene and has an area of 0.4 hectares approximately. A plan showing the land will be available for inspection at the Council Offices, Wolverhampton Road, Codsall, South Staffordshire, WV8 1PX, during normal office hours i.e. 8.45am – 5.00pm (8.00pm Tuesdays) Monday to Friday and 9.30am – 1.00pm Saturdays. Under the provisions of Section 123 (2A) of the Local Government Act, 1972, any person wishing to object to the proposed disposal should write setting out the details of such objection to Mr. J. Goodall, Office of the Chief Executive, South Staffordshire District Council, Council Offices, Wolverhampton Road, Codsall, South Staffordshire, WV8 1PX. Objections must be received by the aforementioned no later than 5.00pm on Friday, 20th February, 2009.

 R. Levesley,
Chief Executive,
South Staffordshire District Council,
Council Offices,
Wolverhampton Road,
Codsall,
South Staffordshire.
WV8 1PX.

Dated : 6th February, 2009                               

13 February 2009

After a request, the Mr Rolf Levesley, Chief Executive of South Staffs. District Council has written to say that they have informally extended the closing date for objections by one week to 5pm on the 27 February 2009.

Readers may wish to register on this website's "Have Your Say" where there is now a Discussion Item on "The Future of Silverdene site and the Open Space around it".   Once your registration is confirmed you can join the discussion.

12 February 2009

Silverdene was finally closed in the summer of 2008 and demolished in early February 2009.   Our attempts to keep it open failed and we now wait to see what facilities are going to be provided for our elderly to replace the Silverdene facility.    Information from South Staffs. District Council and South Staffs. Housing Association issued today is as follows:-  

12th February 2009

South Staffordshire Council is currently consulting on the potential disposal of land adjacent to the former care home at Silverdene, Tildesley Close in Penkridge.   The proposal is for the open space to be incorporated into a larger site to provide a much needed modern facility for the elderly.

Local residents in Penkridge who wish to comment on the plans to dispose of the open land should submit their comments to South Staffordshire Council, no later than 5pm on the 20th February 2009, by writing to Mr J Goodall, Office of the Chief Executive, South Staffordshire Council, Wolverhampton Road, Codsall, WV8 1PX.

South Staffordshire Housing Association, Staffordshire County Council and South Staffordshire Council are all currently discussing potential plans to redevelop the former Silverdene site by developing a modern, comfortable extra care housing facility, offering older residents of Penkridge and surrounding villages, a flexible high quality alternative to the residential care that was previously available.

Discussions are ongoing, but the organisations will consult with local residents in greater detail and make further announcements about the potential plans over the coming months.”

The Parish Council were told that a planning proposal was to be sent to the District Council this coming spring and if approved, the new facility would be built and open in 2010.     We have learned today that a PUBLIC NOTICE has been issued by the District Council informing the public of their decision to dispose of open space land adjacent to the old Silverdene to the Housing Association for a nominal consideration for the purpose of extra care housing development.  Under the provisions of Section 123 (2A) of the Local Government Act, 1972, any person wishing to object to the proposed disposal should write setting our the details of such objection to the person mentioned above.  Objections to be received by the Council no later than 5pm on Friday 20 February 2009. 


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14 November 2007 - The County Council Labour CABINET ignored all our appeals and demonstrations and finally decided to close 14 out of 21 Care Homes in Staffordshire, including SILVERDENE IN PENKRIDGE.  The fight hasn't ended - we can still keep our Care Home in the centre of Penkridge and some of us are working towards making that happen.
        The 21 Homes that are to be closed are:  

Billbrook House, Codsall
Greenwood House, Burntwood
Horace Pritchard House, Burton
Kniveden Hall, Leek
Langbourn, Cannock
Lea House, Madeley
Lightwood, Cheadle
Nearfield House, Lichfield
Ravenhill, Rugeley
Rosenheath, Stone
Silverdene, Penkridge
The Homestead, Newcastle
The Laurels, Stafford
Thomas Hardy Court, Tamworth

9 November 2007 - Bevan Craddock makes a last appeal to the Cabinet of Staffs. County Council on behalf of all our elderly people in Penkridge

7 November 2007 - Following the Consultation an Announcement has been made by Staffs. County Council today that recommendations are being made to the Cabinet Meeting on the 14th November.  They are to close several Care Homes, including SILVERDENE.  Full details of the announcement can be found here  

September 2007 - Awaiting publication of Report on Consultation undertaken by Agencia on behalf of Staffordshire County Council.

31 July 2007 - Parish Councillors Geoghegan, McGuinness and Craddock compiled a response to the Consultation Document which can be found here.

11 July 2007 - Penkridge Parish Council will be debating this matter and the "Consultation" document from the County Council at their meeting tomorrow (Thursday 12 July) at 7.30pm.  All residents are welcome to attend and hear what is said.  Local electors can speak during the Public Participation session. 
David Kidney is acquiring a copy of the Court Judgement on what he considers is a "lawful" consultation.  I will post it here when received.   The Consultation Document (a pdf file) can be found by clicking here.  

I have now heard from John Wakefield (Cabinet Member of Staffs. County Council), that any comments and views on this latest "Consultation Document" can be emailed to Agencia Consulting Ltd. (andrewgibson@agenciaconsulting.com) BUT YOU MUST ALSO copy them to:  susan.woodward@staffordshire.gov.uk and john.wakefield@staffordshire.gov.uk who will make sure they are given proper consideration by the County Council.   Agencia Consulting Ltd. may be contacted on 01482 649939 or, by post, at 8 Waterside House, Livingstone Road, Hessle, HU13 0EG.  
I would suggest that you also let your County Councillor have copies of any comments you submit.  For Penkridge Electors, that is Cllr. Veronica Downes and her email address is:  veronica.downes@staffordshire.gov.uk  Deadline for comments is 31 July 2007.

9 July 2007 - Press Release from Staffordshire RAGE.

RAGE Staffordshire: Press Release - What an interesting 4th July!
PICTURES OF THE EVENT

The 4th July, associated as it is with the 1776 American Declaration of Independence, saw a host of people from Staffordshire declaring that they have unalienable rights too! The RAGE Staffordshire protest in Parliament Square received significant media attention on a day that saw the release of Alan Johnson and Gordon Brown’s first Prime Minister’s Question Time!

Six radio stations and the main TV channels covered the Parliament Square protest, alongside the presentation of the 8,104 signature petitions at No.10 Downing Street and the Open Court Hearing in the Royal Courts of Justice, rejoining the protestors for ‘live’ interviews on the coach at the end of their day. In excess of 100 frail elderly, physically and learning disabled people, together with their carers and relatives, took their message to the heart of Government! 

Protestors outside Westminster were joined immediately after PMQT, by three Staffordshire MPs: Michael Fabricant (Cons), Charlotte Atkins (Lab) and Janet Dean (Lab), together with three parliamentary candidates and a Liberal Democrat Councillor, all of whom had made their way to Westminster from Staffordshire to show their support!

The Open Court Hearing saw Staffordshire County Council again stating that it had made no decision to close, and that it was paying change management consultants Agencia, to talk to service-users and carers. Whilst the two judges in the court accepted the Council’s defence, RAGE Staffordshire were extremely pleased to hear three important statements made in court by the Council’s legal representative: firstly, the Defence Counsel stated that the Council’s budget is not dependant upon closures, which is important because previous Council documentation and press releases had indicated that the Council could not afford to keep facilities open; secondly, the Council’s Defence stated that no individual would be moved if it put them at ‘unacceptable risk’; and thirdly, Mr. Justice Moses spelled out exactly what constituted a ‘lawful’ consultation, so that everyone would be clear of the extent to which there is a requirement to consult.   Speaking on behalf of RAGE Staffordshire, Co-Chair Elaine Kirkham stated “Following the Court ruling, relatives and carers were naturally disappointed and some service-users were distraught, believing that the Judge had authorised the Council to close their day centres and care homes. However, overall, everyone from RAGE Staffordshire felt it had been an extremely worthwhile day with many positive outcomes, not least of all the three points to emerge from the Hearing above. One service-user’s son is currently doing an ‘exit poll’ of the option preferred by people who have been to the group meetings and it is not surprising that almost everyone polled, has opted for retaining the excellent day centre, day services and residential in-house provision provided by the Council. We wait with baited breath to hear the results of the Agencia consultation. We hope that the Council will be transparent regarding the findings and that a fair decision will be made that reflects the views of those most affected and most at risk. We the governed, reminded local and central government yesterday, that frail and vulnerable people have unalienable rights too” 

Elaine Kirkham, Co-Chair RAGE Staffordshire 

www.rage-staffordshire.org

 

6 July 2007 - I have just had this email from Agencia Consulting Ltd. (who are carrying out the consultation on their proposals to close Silverdene).  So the question is: "Does the County Council really want to hear from the Community of Penkridge, from those of us who may well need Care Home facilities within our village in the future".  Ask your Parish Council to represent you and put your views to Staffordshire County Council - forceably!

"Dear Mr Craddock

Thank you for contacting us through our website, requesting the opportunity to submit comments on behalf of the Penkridge Community (Silverdene Care Home).

You may not be aware that our terms of reference are specifically to consult with users of the services affected and their relatives. As such we are not in a position to deal with comments from organisations.

If you know of any users of services or their relatives who have not already made their views known to us please could you encourage them to complete the comments form they will have received with their copy of the consultation document. These forms need to be with us by 31st July.

Should you as an organisation still wish to make comments these would best be addressed direct to the County Council for the attention of Mr Keith Skerman, Director of Performance and Change, Staffordshire County Council, Wedgwood Building, Tipping Street, Staffs ST16 2DH.

Kind regards

Andrew Gibson
Managing Director
Agencia Consulting Ltd
01482 649900
 www.agenciaconsulting.com

4 July 2007 - An email from a County Council Cabinet Member reminds Penkridge that their Consultation Booklet "About possible changes to Care Services for older people in Staffordshire" (May 2007) invites comments and views by the 31 July 2007.  

Anyone can submit comments on the document to:  Agencia Consulting Ltd.   They may be contacted on 01482 649939 or, by post, at 8 Waterside House, Livingstone Road, Hessle, HU13 0EG.   Or by Email to: info@agenciaconsulting.com

The Consultation Document (a pdf file) can be found by clicking here. 

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24 April 2007 - Copy of letter to David Kidney MP from Solicitor acting on behalf of Staffordshire RAGE.
                         Copy of Care Homes Closure Research

23 April 2007 - Copy of letter from David Kidney dated 13 March 2007
                         Copy of Eric Robinson's letter to David Kidney dated 2 March 2007 - page 1  page 2
                         Copy of MP's Briefing "Changing Lives Court Case Outcome" from Eric Robinson                      

19 April 2007 - About 200 people attended the meeting in Stafford last night.  There were representatives from all the proposed closure Homes in Staffordshire.  No Officers from the County Council attended even though they were invited.  One Tory County Councillor attended.  The meeting was addressed by the Chair of National RAGE, Chair of Staffordshire RAGE, Yvonne Hossack (Solicitor), and many member of the public representing local Care Homes and Day Centres in Staffordshire spoke.  Yvonne Hussack updated everyone on the state of play of the Court Hearings and the current situation.  See Staffordshire Rage website for full information.  RAGE stands for "Relatives Action Group for the Elderly in Staffordshire"

18 April 2007 - A PUBLIC MEETING IS BEING HELD IN THE POLISH CLUB, RIVERWAY, STAFFORD, AT 7.30PM ON THURSDAY, 19 APRIL 2007.   Organised by Staffordshire RAGE and all Staffordshire Groups fighting the closures are invited to attend to hear the latest information.   Eric Robinson of Staffordshire County Council and Cllr. Susan Woodward have also been invited to attend or to send their representatives.  Silverdene will be represented at the meeting.

30 March 2007 - 3.30pm - Families over at Burton in East Staffs. have set up a "Staffordshire Rage" website and have been fighting a legal battle against the County Council over the closure of their Care Home.  For full information and the way the legal battle is going I would suggest you log on to the "Staffordshire Rage" site at:
http://www.rage-staffordshire.org/ where you can find the uptodate position on the Court Hearings and Injunctions and Press Releases.  The case has been to court once and the County Council have been ordered to appear in Court again on 2 April.  I urge you to go on the website and read all the postings - it is amazing what has been happening.

In the meantime, Penkridge people are still trying to find an answer to our problem of the proposed closure of Silverdene.  A group of interested people are still working on it but are having some difficulties in getting information from certain bodies.   Like Burton, however, we have not given up hope.  Stay tuned.  Until this Court Case is finalised, I believe it will be difficult for Penkridge to proceed as the County Council are not now clear where they stand legally - only the Court can decide.

Update 1.3.2007 - 9am - the Action Group/Committee is still working hard to find a solution.  They met this week and discussed with experts the options available.  Further information and facts are being pursued.

Update 23.2.2007 - 11pm - Had the following statement today from a Tory County Councillor "that in the debate at the Full County Council the nearest we got to saving the home in the 'Changing Lives' agenda was lost by only 29-28 on a named vote on the budget.  A member of the Labour Party voted with the Tories, as did the the two Liberals.....  However, we did get a time extension as the ruling party added an amendment at the last minute so as to ensure a winning vote from their side, that the closure of homes by March 2008 was not now sacrosanct".

Update 22.2.2007 - 9pm - Phone calls and emails are flying everywhere - we hope to have some positive news by end of next week. 

Update 19.2.2007 - 10.30pm - Penkridge "Action Group", met to explore solutions with the intention of keeping Silverdene open.  Cross your fingers.  No stone is being left unturned.

Update 16.2.2007 - 2.30pm - County Council made decision yesterday to close Silverdene (and many other Care Homes in Staffordshire). Click here for the latest email message to Penkridge people.  Help on the way. 

Update 15.2.2007 - 0025 - No report received of David Kidney's meeting at Silverdene with residents and staff.  Again, communication seems to be very difficult for some people.   Still not heard what Scrutiny Committee decision was.  We will no doubt discover all this tomorrow at the Council Meeting.  I hope somebody will have the decency to let us all know what the fate of Silverdene, its Residents and its staff is.   All is not lost, however, as other avenues are being explored by people in Penkridge who do CARE!

Update 14.2.2007 at 10pm - Petitions have been handed to Cllr. Veronica Downes who will present them at Thursday's Council Meeting.

Update 14.2.2007 at 2pm - Received reply from Complaints Co-ordinator at County Council - click here for email

Update 00.25 am 14.2.2007 - District Councillor says he had not been made aware of Home closures. "It's utterly disgraceful and irresponsible for these decisions to be made without notifying and involving the people affected by them or their representatives." 

Update 12pm 13.2.2007 - Learned that Petitions available in Gailey Corner Shop and Spread Eagle.

Update 6.30pm 13.2.2007 - Hundreds signing petition in village shops.  

Update - 13.2.2007 -  The County Council Social Care Scrutiny Committee met today which debated this - no news of outcome yet.  The County Council is trying to handle communications centrally to avoid mixed messages but I assume they are being swamped by objections and queries!

Update 6pm 13.2.2007 - David Kidney will be at Silverdene from 10.30am Wednesday 14 February, "to discuss what more we can do to avert this proposed closure."

Copy of Email sent by Bevan Craddock round to all his Penkridge Email Contacts - sent 13 Feb. 2007 am.

It was only a few days ago that the community of Penkridge (including the Parish Council)learned that Staffordshire County Council had proposed to close Silverdene Care Home (owned and run by the County Council), along with all the other Care Homes they own in Staffordshire.

 1.  At a meeting last night of the families of residents, it was agreed that they would fight to retain this Care Home, situated as it is, within the centre of our community and which has been looking after the elderly in our community for many years. 

 2.  They agreed to:

    a)  circulate a petition around the community which the public is asked to sign.  This will be found in the majority of our Shops and businesses in Penkridge.  But we only have until tomorrow night (Wednesday) to sign this. 
   b)  encourage everybody to write (preferably email as the final decision endorsing the decision to close will be made at this Thursday's Council Meeting) to County Councillors asking them to at least defer the decision until proper consultation with the residents, their carers, their families and the community of Penkridge has taken place. Your County Councillor for Penkridge is Veronica Downes and her email address is:  veronica.downes@staffordshire.gov.uk

The Leader of the Labour Party is Terry Dix and his email address is:

Terry.dix@staffordshire.gov.uk

 Other names of County Councillors and their email addresses can be found on the Staffordshire County Council website at:  http://www.staffordshire.gov.uk/yourcouncil/councillors/

 I have personally emailed a number of County Councillors and our MP David Kidney (kidneyd@parliament.uk), a copy of which you will find at the end of this email.

I UNDERSTAND ALL THE CURRENT RESIDENTS WISH TO STAY in Silverdene SO I BELIEVE THIS COMMUNITY SHOULD DO OUR VERY BEST TO PERSUADE THE COUNTY COUNCIL TO RETAIN SILVERDENE UNTIL PROPER CONSULTATION HAS TAKEN PLACE BETWEEN ALL CONCERNED.

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Copy of Reply (13 Feb.2007) from Gill Coffin, Principal Officer, Communication & Inclusion, Directorate of Social Care and Health, Staffordshire County Council to an email sent 8 days ago asking for answers to questions.

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Reply received on 14 February 2007 from Polly James, Complaints Department, Staffs. County Council

Dear Cllr Craddock

Thank you for your email dated 13 February 2007 to Cabinet Members.  Your email have been forwarded onto me to respond regarding decisions made by the County Council’s Cabinet on 7 February 2007 when it met to agree the Medium-Term Financial Strategy.

The Cabinet have agreed that supporting vulnerable people is a main priority and as a result the decision was taken to invest an additional £19m, over a period of three years, into maintaining services, dealing with demographic changes and developing new services. This decision was taken in conjunction with the need to disinvest in a number of our own in-house services. A failure to take this twin-track approach to investment and disinvestment would see a burgeoning and cumulative debt of around £31m over the next three years. This, in turn, would have a severe impact on our ability to meet the needs of vulnerable people. 

Cabinet agreed timescales for the reprovision of in-house services, and this will see persons in local authority residential homes being transferred to the independent sector by March 2008. In-house care homes for people with a learning or physical disability will be reprovided by March 2009 and in-house day care services will also be reprovided by March 2009.

Some of the extra investment will be used to minimise disruption to existing residents and service users. Dedicated staff will be employed to assist in making decisions and stating preferences. Access to independent advocacy services will be also be available.

We aim to deal sensitively with all those affected by the changes. We also aim to create new services which will serve the population of this County for many years to come.

Please find attached a document which answers some frequently asked questions which you find to be of some help.

Service users, carers and those affected by the changes may contact their local area office, on 01785 276994 for further information and guidance.

Yours sincerely

Eric Robinson,

Corporate Director

Frequently Asked Questions

1Q:      How will residents move to somewhere different

Each resident will receive a letter explaining how we will approach the move. The procedures we apply are based on many years of practical experience.

Nobody will be forced to return home unless it is their wish.

2Q:      How will their needs be assessed?

Each person will have their needs assessed. Arrangements are being put in place for staff to undertake these assessments.  Carers and families will be involved in the assessment process.

 The assessment team will incorporate professional social work and medical staff.

3Q:      Will residents in care homes have a choice over their move?

Every effort will be made to ensure that the resident’s choice of independent care is accommodated.  We will be working closely with relatives and families to identify suitable alternative care homes.

4Q:      How will the disruption to residents be minimised?

We will follow Best Practice from national research, as well as using many years practical experience of dealing with similar moves in other parts of the County to ensure that:

·                                Named staff will be allocated to each resident.

 

·                                Residents and relatives are offered opportunities to visit and liaise with new home.

 

·                                Arrangements will be in place to meet other residents and staff in the new home.

 

·                                Access to independent advocacy to represent resident’s views is available.

 5Q:      Will residents have a choice, and what will happen next?

            Residents will already have been informed of the planned changes by a member of staff or their family.  We will then meet with residents and their family to help decide where they would like to consider living.  We know that where closures have occurred in the past, some people have moved to ‘completely’ different areas so that they can live closer to family members.  The choice of where they live, subject to it meeting their assessed needs at a cost acceptable to the Council, will be up to them and their family.

6Q:      Will people be out of pocket?.

            By moving to another home of your choice the Council will continue to ensure that the charge made to you will be no more than is currently made.

            Carers’ needs, including extra transport costs, will be assessed.

7Q:      Are other Councils doing similar things?

Staffordshire, like many other councils in line with the government White Paper and good practice, is investing in services that are more appropriate for people’s needs and designed to meet modern standards for social care. Our investment is for this generation and future generations.

8Q:      Why are you making these changes?

            The Council’s care homes will not meet the modern nursing and complex needs of older people.

            Residential care is not always what people tell us they want, nor is it always appropriate, and so the Council is preparing to provide a wider range of services in the County

9Q:      Will there be adequate provision in the future to cope with the increase of population?

In anticipation of the increased demand we are developing services which will meet the current and future needs of people, which are affordable for the Council and the Community. These proposals will result in Social Care provisions which are sustainable for the future needs of the community.  

10Q:    What will be on offer for older people in the future?

            Older people have told us that they want to remain in their own homes.  In order to do this we are making available a range of services including

·                                Home Care – where they are able to remain at home

·                                Direct Payments – so they can purchase the care they require

·                                Extra Care/Sheltered housing – see question 11 below

·                                Residential care in the independent sector will also remain an option.

·                                Respite care -where short breaks are available either for the carer or the user. This can be in their own home or other establishments

·                                Rehabilitation - with short term intensive support and therapy to help persons regain their ability to  live independently.

·                                Support for carers  - this could be in the form of a Direct Payment, or a short break

·                                24 hour support – this is where more support is needed at times throughout the day/night which we are currently unable to provide

·                                Assistive technology- where the latest technology such as fall detectors, lifelines and door open sensors/alarms are fitted to people’s own homes.

·                                Resource centres will be developed with housing and NHS organisations on a local basis.

11Q:    What is Extra Care?

This is where people either own, or rent, a property and additional support and security is available to meet people’s care needs. Unlike residential care, extra care has the potential to assist people to keep some of the equity in their property.

12Q:    Are Direct Payments suitable for older people?

For many the answer is yes and we have a growing number of people using this opportunity to maintain their independence.

13Q:    What will happen to the buildings and the land?

In some cases we will seek the opportunity to secure Extra Care and supported housing. Some will be used to invest in new localised social care services in the community.

 14Q:    Is this a cost cutting exercise and what will the Council do with the money it saves?

 No it is not a cost cutting exercise.  In some cases there will be savings which will be reinvested in new services but our objective is to improve the overall standard of social care in the County for many years to come. 

15Q:    How can I complain

A statutory complaints procedure for Social Care and Health is already in existence and arrangements have been made for any complaints or comments to be directed to the Complaints Services Manager, Directorate of Social Care and Health, Walton Building, PO Box 11, Martin Street, Stafford  ST16 2LH  Tel:  01785 277406/7

The complaints procedure will deal with complaints about the treatment of individual cases, not the policy of the County Council.

16Q:    Who can I contact to find out more?

A number of senior staff have been made available to handle enquiries. People are requested to make enquiries either to the Complaints Manager and explain what information you require, or they can contact their local Area Office for Social Care or if the information is about their particular relative’s situation, the Home Care manager will be able to take the enquiry.

Kind regards

Polly James

Complaints Co-ordinator

Complaints & Representations Team

Directorate of Social Care & Health

Tel: 01785 277406

Fax: 01785 277053

polly.james@staffordshire.gov.uk

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To all my Penkridge Contacts (please pass on to your friends and neighbours) 16 Feb.2007 - 2.30pm

Silverdene - I am updating on the website as I get information.  The latest is: 

1.  Yesterday, we all heard that Staffs. County Council had decided to ignore everybody's appeals and made the final decision to close all their Care Homes.

2.  This has caused a major row throughout Staffordshire which is not unexpected.

3.  Better minds than mine are looking into the legalities of what they have done and how they have gone about it

4.  Penkridge, however, is looking urgently into how we can solve the problem as quickly as possible.

5.  To that end a small group of Penkridge people will be meeting in the next couple of days to look at all the options open to us.  Our intention is to solve the problem as quickly as possible to prevent stress and worry to everyone.

 6.  The message to Residents and Staff at Silverdene and their families is that we intend to leave no stone unturned to keep the Home open.

 7.  We have already had some positive news so please keep your fingers crossed. WE WILL SOLVE THE PROBLEM SO THE MESSAGE TO RESIDENTS AND STAFF IS "You have lots of helpers working to solve the problem".

 8.  We have had offers of help from several key people in the community and we may need further help from all the residents of Penkridge so please keep in touch.

 Out of a negative proposal will come a positive result.  One day, the majority of us all may well need the care and love that Silverdene offers to its residents today.

Regards

 Bevan Craddock
Penkridge Town Crier & Webmaster

http://www.penkridge.org.uk

PS – If you have friends, neighbours or family in Penkridge who would like to be kept informed by email occasionally of important things happening in Penkridge Parish, please let me have their email address.

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