Residents of a sheltered housing complex along with their families say they are being kept in the dark about when a new care service is to be introduced.

Those connected to Tygetshaugh Court in Dunipace have now taken their complaints to the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman who has agreed to investigate matters raised.

Their complaints mainly centre around the consultation process carried out by Falkirk Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP) and information that was provided to the Integrated Joint Board (IJB) – the body that oversees health and social care locally and which took the decision to change the care set up.

Last June the IJB agreed that it would no longer use Falkirk Council staff to provide the care for residents, instead it would be “reprovisioned” to external providers.

Feelings were made clear by relatives and the community at a public meeting over the proposed changes at Tygetshaugh Court. Pic: Michael Gillen

placeholder image — Feelings were made clear by relatives and the community at a public meeting over the proposed changes at Tygetshaugh Court. Pic: Michael Gillen

It had previously looked at four of the council’s housing with care complexes – the others being Dorrator Court, Glenbrae Court and Glenfuir Court, before settling on Tygetshaugh to bring in changes which they said would deliver £150,000 of savings.

At that time they said the cost-cutting changes would be implemented over the summer months but since the announcement and the resultant public outcry, the moves have stalled.

Since last summer there have been demonstrations, objections from trade unions, complaints from local councillors, a petition with more than 2000 signatures and lots of media coverage, as well as a community meeting – all of which made clear that residents and their families are deeply unhappy with the proposals.

The relatives of residents say they are still awaiting answers on many areas, including who will be providing the daily care needed by residents, as well as the laundry provision with many of the flats not having space for washing machines and this was done for them by the council’s care staff as part of their regular duties.

Tygetshaugh Court housing with care complex. Pic: Michael Gillen

While Falkirk Council has said it would not ask the IJB to reconsider the reprovisioning of care, the HSCP chief officer, Gail Woodcock did admit to councillors that lessons have been learned from the criticism of engagement with staff, residents and public, and efforts are being made to improve their engagement process.

This week the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman confirmed that there would be an investigation of a complaint brought by relatives of residents, namely: “The consultation, appraisal and decision making process to remove in-house care staff and services from the housing with care complex at Tygetshaugh was unreasonable.”

The Ombudsman will look at whether it was reasonable not to specifically consult residents and families about the proposed changes; was the Equalities Impact Assessment which was provided to the IJB, to support their decision making, reasonable; and was the appraisal exercise which identified Tygetshaugh as the most suitable for the proposed changes reasonable.

Once notified of the investigation, the HSCP will have 20 days to provide a response and any information requested.

However, the complainants were warned that the process could take up to one year to complete.

Welcoming the investigation, the complainant said: “This is huge news for the residents, their families and the local people knowing that at least we are getting taken seriously.”

A spokesperson for Falkirk Health and Social Care Partnership said: “We are continuing to progress the implementation of this work, and will soon conclude the process with staff and trade union colleagues to consider options in line with Falkirk Council’s employment policies.

“We have engaged with tenants in receipt of a care package at Tygetshaugh to review their needs and discuss their transfer to their new provider. We expect to inform all tenants of their personalised transition timeline by the end of the month.

“All feedback and complaints are considered through our formal processes. Anyone who feels their complaint is unresolved following this may refer the matter to the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman, which we will support to review our decision and processes in a fair and independent manner.”