Community cafe closure plan is huge ‘blow’ for elderly residents

A world-leading scheme on how to better look after the elderly will be left in ruins over a “paper exercise” to cut budgets by just £136,000.

Experts from countries including Japan and Italy travelled to Bathgate to learn from the showpiece Rosemount Gardens assisted living scheme when it first opened 10 years ago.

Pensioners and elderly couples were happy to give up family homes to move into Rosemount because residents were given back their independence and companionship built around the community cafe on the premises.

But despite the overwhelming success of Rosemount, West Lothian Integrated Joint Board have devastated residents over plans to shut the community cafe – which has been described as the “beating heart” of the complex – and aims to save £136,000 from the controversial move.

Thousands have signed petitions against the plan, and residents, politicians and Big Braw Community ­partners Age Scotland warn closure of the cafe will have a major impact.

Adam Stachura, Age Scotland’s policy director, said: “The community cafe has been Rosemount’s beating heart, providing good food and vital opportunities for residents to connect with others, tackling the loneliness they experience.

“The long-term social and health benefits of the community cafe cannot be overstated. Age Scotland believe there should be far more places like this across Scotland because of the incredible benefits it brings, drawing people together into a proper community where nobody needs to feel lonely or isolated.

“It would be extremely shortsighted to cut away this important service.

“We feel this has been a rushed and ill-considered decision which will have a huge impact on the quality of life of the older people who live there.”

© Stewart Attwood

Jackie McKenzie, of Rosemount’s tenants’ association, said closure plans have been a “devastating blow”.

She said: “If the community cafe is closed, Rosemount will become a shell. The local authority have either not thought things through, or they simply don’t care about the people who live here.

“We came to Rosemount because it was a friendly, supportive community where nobody needs to feel on their own. We look out for each other. Our lives revolve round the cafe, which does far more than just provide meals.

“They make sure residents get fed when they are ill, they celebrate birthdays, anniversaries and Christmases, and the place brings in social groups from all over the town. Everyone here has an active social life which we wouldn’t have if the cafe was taken away.

“It is a meeting place, and for those of us who can’t get out and about, it is a vital lifeline. People will end up in care homes if they take away our community cafe, and that would cost far more than any supposed savings.

“The local authority has a non-redundancy policy, so any savings they claim are simply a paper exercise.”

SNP Councillor Willie Boyle and his colleague Pauline Stafford have been fighting against the cuts.

Boyle said: “When Rosemount opened, countries from around the world came to see how Scotland looks after its elderly. It should be the jewel in our crown and replicated across the country as a model instead of having its heart torn out.”

Transport Secretary and local MSP Fiona Hyslop said: “Rosemount is exactly what a society which values older people should be. This was a world-leading approach when Rosemount opened, a wonderful example on how to tackle loneliness and isolation by bringing ­people together.

“It would be a serious step backwards if this cafe was closed without proper scrutiny over income, expenditure and how the gap in funding could be closed if a constructive solution-focused approach was adopted. There have been serious misjudgments by the management along the way here, but it is not too late for them to come to the table at the cafe and meet residents, the campaign group and extensive volunteer groups who use the community cafe.”

West Lothian Integrated Joint Board said: “Staff aren’t being made redundant. There are existing vacancies within the catering service at other locations and the staff will be offered redeployment to these facilities. The current roles at Rosemount cafe would then be removed, which delivers the required saving.”

Helen’s story

© Stewart Attwood

Retired social worker Helen Hay was forced to leave her job after being subjected to a vicious assault. And as a result of her injuries, she came to Rosemount because she could no longer live alone in her family home in Dunfermline.

Helen, 68, said: “Without the community cafe and the social aspect it brings, we would lose everything that makes Rosemount so special, and I would return to being a recluse.

“After I was attacked at work six years ago, the injuries to my skull and left side eventually left me unable to stay on my own. I had to rely on my children to help me. I lost interest in everything and became a recluse because I was terrified to go out.

“I agreed to move to Rosemount a few months ago because it was such a happy place, offering friendship and support.

“If the cafe is taken away, it would tear the heart out of this place because everything revolves around it.

“It’s the reason why we all get up in the morning, get dressed and go down for breakfast and coffee.

“Our social lives are all connected with the cafe. The staff there are incredibly caring. They make sure everyone is properly fed and looked after. We simply would not have the quality of life that we enjoy if they were taken away.

“In this place, we have all become like an extended family, caring for each other. Nobody could ever put a price on that, so why destroy it for a false saving?

“We also have very disabled people coming here, and they do that because they are made welcome. All kinds of community groups share the cafe with us too, so they would also lose having a place to meet and mix.

“My family say I’ve got a whole new lease of life and I don’t want to lose that.”