THE closure of Beamsmoor care home in Sedbergh should be of concern to anyone connected with the care of the vulnerable in our society and anyone likely to qualify for that care in their lifetime.

The owner Nigel Close is a seasoned campaigner for care homes and has never been shy about coming forward to fight their corner, especially the battle to persuade the county council to make full use of the private sector services on offer.

But his battle-cry this time, in typical style taken to the very top in the form of a letter to Prime Minister Tony Blair, is over regulations designed with the best of intentions.

It is surely right to try to protect the elderly and others in need of care from unscrupulous homes. It is also right to make sure that staff who work in such homes are as suited to their duties as possible.

However, the practicalities, as so often in the wake of legislation, are not so simple.

It appears that the homes are struggling to find people willing to put up with all the hassle of acquiring the required National Vocational Qualifications, for what is sometimes a poorly-paid and part-time job.

In areas of the country with significant unemployment, this obstacle can be overcome. But, as so often in these cases, it is in rural areas that the effect is most strongly felt.

Poor transport and low unemployment mean it is too tempting to take less onerous work nearer home.

This Government seems to believe that written qualifications are the only proof of aptitude. Perhaps it would be better to have a system that relies on inspections to gauge the effectiveness of staff and on the opinions of the residents of these homes, rather than rely on exam results.

If too many of the care homes close in frustration at failing to find staff, Cumbria County Council could find itself back in the situation of having too few beds for the frail, leading to bed-blocking in hospitals, a predicament it has only just climbed out of, at considerable cost.

The public and private sectors need to work together to minimise the risk of this problem getting out of control, for all our sakes.

Going underground

THE disposal of cold war bunkers across the Lakes and Dales is a poignant reminder of the dark days of nuclear tension following the Second World War, and which lasted until the fall of the Soviet empire.

But it could also prove to be an opportunity for imaginative council officers beleaguered by the outcry over public loo closures and affordable homes for local people.

Some of the 13 bunkers are in outstandingly beautiful spots, particularly the one at Hawkshead. It surely cannot be beyond the skills of some local builder to convert these constructions, spartan as they now are, into attractive housing.

Being underground, such developments would escape even the stringent planning laws in the national parks.

They are also equipped with toilets, so perhaps an alternative use would be as public loos, although the ladder would almost certainly fall foul of disabled access regulations.

May 27, 2003 12:30