Elderly residents living in a housing scheme in Carmarthenshire face being left without easy and quick access to care following a “ridiculous” decision which has left concerned relatives “devastated”. Cwm Aur is a residential housing complex made up of 40 one and two bedroom apartments in Llanybydder.
Built in 2010, the site was designed as an ‘extra care scheme’ which provides independent living but also 24/7 care and support for residents who are all over the age of 55. That care and support is provided by Pobl Group through a contract with Carmarthenshire Council, and is the only such scheme in north-east Carmarthenshire and east Ceredigion, with other similar residential complexes being further afield in places including Cardigan, Aberystwyth and Carmarthen. To get the latest Carmarthenshire stories sent directly to you for free, click here.
However, in January, residents received letters to their apartments informing them that Carmarthenshire Council was due to cancel its contract with Pobl Group from April. Residents and their dismayed relatives have said this will mean no care staff at the housing complex (there are now two carers each morning, two each afternoon and one overnight), a lack of meals provided by the on-site kitchen, and the end of social activities normally organised by staff. Furthermore, there is a genuine concern that a lack of carers on site will only increase pressure on the Welsh Ambulance Service and the NHS, both of which are already under immense strain.
