Cabinet agrees to close Ravensfield Residential Care Home in Keswick

On the 11th November, Cumbria County Council's Cabinet considered the feedback from the consultation and agreed the recommendation to permanently close Ravensfield and invest in the development of alternative services including higher level support for people in their own homes.

Background to the Consultation

Cumbria County Council’s Ravensfield residential care home in Keswick has been closed since residents were evacuated due to the November 2009 floods.   The home has been evacuated twice in the last five years and the ongoing flood risk and subsequent significant risk to residents has resulted in a recommendation to Cumbria County Council’s Cabinet on 8 June 2010 for a consultation on the home’s future.  

As with other residential care homes across the county, the demand for places at Ravensfield is falling as more people access alternatives to stay living independently at home.   New care developments in nearby areas have increased the choice of care homes to local people and we are also working with a local housing association on the possible development of an extra care housing scheme which will increase provision in the area even more.   

Finally, the quality standards in terms of the environment that people should reasonably expect and increasingly are demanding are simply not available at Ravensfield.   The home has small bedrooms, few rooms have en-suite facilities, corridors are narrow and overall the building makes it difficult to provide high quality care and deliver high levels of dignity.

The consultation on the home's future ran from 28 June 2010 to 28 September 2010.   We consulted widely with residents, family members, staff and the local community on a proposal to permanently close the home.

Results of the consultation are now available:

Consultation on a proposal to close Ravensfield Residential care home, Keswick - Summer/Autumn 2010 Report by Fran Branfield & Jenny Willis with with Rob Harris - Advocacy Experience