Steve Thomson, of Dawlish, writes:
It is of some relief that there appears to be no immediate threat to the future of Daw Vale. However, I feel there are several areas of concern about how this establishment might be managed by the private sector. I am particularly concerned about possible increases in care fees. The county council has already imposed a huge increase in care fees of 14.9 per cent, more than four times the rate of inflation. I wrote to the county council finance department challenging this increase and I received a prompt and courteous reply. Several factors were quoted but notably: l The need to recover all direct costs. l An allowance for inflation, apparently higher than usual due to increases in gas and electricity costs. l An assumption of 95 per cent occupancy figures for residential beds. While accepting the rises in gas and fuel costs I still do not believe that these factors sufficiently explain or justify such an increase. Surely the other factors would have been included in costings for previous years. Apart from the fact that there was no forewarning of such an increase, it would also appear to me that the ability to pay these fees is not a factor that is taken into account. If Daw Vale is handed to the private sector then what protection would residents have against further, even more exorbitant, rises in residential fees? Your article (Post, March 31) seems to indicate that selling Daw Vale remains a possible option. Of course we do not want to lose Daw Vale and private sector management is preferable for residents, their families and of course the hard working staff. However, we do need adequate safeguards to ensure that care fees are not raised arbitrarily, that the building is brought up to CSCI standards, and that adequate resources are provided to support staffing and resident services. Let us hope that due consideration is given to this during the consultation period and that the key stakeholders, including residents, relatives and staff, are adequately involved.