Birdsgrove House — the current situation explained
New legal requirements have had an impact on the
dual use of Birdsgrove House as both rest and recuperation facility
and addiction treatment centre. Bernard Kelly, the Society’s
director of resources, explains the current position
Rest and recuperation
Pharmacists who are in need of rest and recuperation
services or other support in times of illness or hardship are invited
to
contact
Beverly Nicol
Benevolent Fund Co-ordinator
01926 315994
for information and help about places that may offer
facilities for
convalescence or an opportunity for rest and relaxation. |
Birdsgrove House is owned by the Benevolent Fund. As members may be
aware, the provision of convalescence at Birdsgrove House dates back
over 50
years to the immediate postwar period. In those early days of the welfare
state, convalescence facilities were in great demand and a highly valued
benefit. Charities such as the Benevolent Fund saw the provision of
convalescence as an appropriate use of their resources.
Over the years, the demand for convalescence (or later, rest and recuperation
services) declined to a low level of occupancy of the facilities. The
maintenance of the house started to become a serious drain on the reserves
of the Benevolent Fund.
Towards the end of the 1990s, the Council, as trustees of the Benevolent
Fund, recognised this situation and sought to enhance the use of Birdsgrove
House by introducing a treatment centre for pharmacists and other health
professionals with addiction problems alongside but separate from the
existing rest and recuperation service. The income generated by the
treatment centre would help to pay for essential maintenance of the
fabric of the
house. For a number of years, the old and new services coexisted happily.
However, changes in legislation introduced in 2000, and subsequently
amended and implemented in 2002, required that Birdsgrove House register
as a private hospital and as a result changed the requirements with
which it had to comply. The inspection of the house and its services
was transferred
to a new agency, the National Care Standards Commission, in 2003. I
am sure there are many members who will be familiar with some of these
changes.
During 2003 and 2004, the NCSC inspected Birdsgrove House a number
of times. The reports arising indicated that, to meet the requirements
of
the NCSC and maintain its registered status, a great deal of work would
be required to modify the fabric of the house and ways of working.
Although great efforts were made to meet the required standards, in
June 2004
the NCSC advised that, unless dual use as a treatment centre and
as a rest and recuperation facility ceased immediately, an enforcement
order would be served.
In the interests of preserving as much as possible of the activity
at Birdsgrove House while also protecting the financial position of
the
Benevolent Fund, rest and recuperation visits booked up to August 2004
were honoured but all future bookings were suspended. The Benevolent
Fund co-ordinator was asked to investigate alternative provision for
those who hoped to visit the house and, where appropriate, consider
contributing to the cost of alternative accommodation.
Meanwhile, the inspection role has been transferred from the NCSC to
a new agency, the Healthcare Commission. We are now developing costed
options which would meet the exacting new requirements, including compliance
with the Disability Discrimination Act.
Members should be aware that there will be no easy options: the use
of the house for rest and recuperation purposes alone would still require
considerable expenditure on making the fabric of the building and ways
of working compliant with requirements, without any promise of a financial
return to the Benevolent Fund.
In due course, the Council, as trustees, will consider the options
and decide on the future use of Birdsgrove House within the context
of a
contemporary interpretation of benevolence.
|
The
Pharmaceutical Journal