A DECISION was made this morning on the future of a care home near Stroud. 

The fates of various care homes - including The Elms in Stonehouse - was decided at a Gloucestershire County Council cabinet meeting this morning. 

At the meeting the cabinet made the decision to close the four care homes in question. 

A decision has also been reached on the future of Stroud Library. 

Which care homes are to be closed? 

The Elms, Stonehouse, Stroud

Orchard House, Bishops Cleeve, Tewkesbury

Westbury Court, Westbury, Forest of Dean

Bohanam House, Gloucester

New facilities 

Plans to invest in new facilities, if agreed, would see a new or redeveloped facility on The Elms site in Stonehouse to provide support to the needs of Stroud residents in the longer term.

It is likely that a residential and nursing facility would be provided that could respond and be flexible to the care needs of the local district from 2025 onwards.

What did the consultation involve?

The consultation involved a series of meetings in each of the four homes where residents, their families and staff were invited to have their say.

Key issues raised focussed on the impact on health and wellbeing of the residents if they had to move to another home.

Others raised concerns around distance to the home for visitors without access to transport.

Responding to this morning’s decision, Cllr Jeremy Hilton, Liberal Democrat group spokesperson for Public Protection and Adult Social Care, said:

“We are extremely concerned about Cabinet’s decision to close the four homes. 

"This comes in spite of the consistently high occupancy of all four care homes prior to the pandemic and the good ratings from the Care Quality Commission. 

“More than 2,000 residents, family members and staff petitioned against these care home closures."