Pinewood: Long term care strategy is ‘right’ - O’Loan

He was responding to the announcement of a series of home closures throughout the Northern Trust area. Pinewood in Ballymena is earmaked for clsoure in November.

He said: “I am in no way surprised at the announcement that all of the Northern Trust homes will close over the next few years and that Pinewood in Ballymena will close very soon. This is a repeat of previous statements from the Trust. It is always disturbing when a well known and highly regarded care facility closes its doors.

“Nonetheless the writing has been on the wall for some time and I think that the move away from residential care towards care in people’s own homes is in the end the right one. It is a key element in the Transforming Your Care package and I support it.

“What matters is the best care for the elderly and mostly that will be at home. It is of course vital that proper support is there for elderly people to continue to live at home, and I want to see reassurance on that. For those residents still in Pinewood and similar homes at the time of ultimate closure, there has to be a well thought out plan for alternative alternative accommodation. That needs to be discussed closely with the resident and relatives.”