Make home a priority (From Penarth Times)

Make home a priority

11:11am Thursday 26th July 2012 in Letters

 DESPITE the huge cost of keeping Bryneithin open for just two residents there is so much potential for this home.

Now is the time for urgent action on the future of this Dinas Powys home.

The site is perfect for caring for people with dementia and I personally feel that this site should be developed and kept as a specialist unit for those with EMI. The green surroundings in this area are perfect for a caring home in such a lovely environment.

During the last council term when the Conservatives ran the Vale of Glamorgan Council , there was a successful campaign organised and led by Margo Farbrace to keep Bryneithin open. Sadly, the ruling Tory group at the time said that the building was unfit for purpose but faced huge opposition and was eventually forced to do a U-turn and keep the home open for the time being.

Now we have a new Labour/Llantwit-run council perhaps now is the time for a fresh thought to be given on the future of this home?

I say it should never have been allowed to get into this position and despite the home almost being destroyed by the Conservatives; perhaps we as an authority should now be considering developing this site as a centre of excellence in this field. It should be stated that Labour at the time strongly advocated of keeping Bryneithin open and campaigned in developing the site for the future – So how about it now?

Now is the time to talk and I would urge the Cabinet Member responsible Cllr Stuart Egan to start the ball rolling and consult with interested parties on a way forward. It is time to have a review on the future of this home and hopefully develop it as a dementia centre of excellence.

It is said that there are considerable amount of issues to address from previous administration but Labour have always claimed to be supportive of Bryneithin; and now they are actually in a position to do something about it so what about it? In its current state it is costly considering the amount of use it is getting but as something that could be given urgent attention the future may be bright for Bryneithin.

I fully support those who say this now must be done as a priority!

Cllr Richard Bertin, Independent Court Ward