Council plans to knock down a care home it bought and build a bigger one in its place

Richard Youle, local democracy reporter

A care home is set to be demolished and a bigger one built in its place to help meet a growing demand for residential and nursing home beds.

Plas Y Bryn residential home, Cwmgwili, west of Ammanford, was run privately before closing in 2022. The council then bought the 32-bed home for £720,000, and has now decided that knocking it down is the preferred option as it wouldn’t be able to support the weight of a third storey.

The plan is for a new-build home with 60 beds – spread across five wings – which would be registered as a residential care home and a nursing home. Twelve of the beds would be nursing ones.

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Ageing

Wales is an ageing society and this is more pronounced in the west of the country, partly due to older people moving to the area to retire. A population needs assessment two years ago estimated that Carmarthenshire would have 25% more residents aged 85 and over by 2030.

There are currently 39 care homes in the county with 1,452 beds, mostly operated by the private sector. Three care homes have closed in recent years, supply is limited, and more residential and nursing home places are needed.

“It is imperative that we address the shortfall in accommodation,” said Cllr Jane Tremlett at a cabinet meeting on December 16.

The plans for the Plas Y Bryn site are estimated to cost £19.5 million, with the majority – just over £14 million – sought from the Welsh Government, and the rest coming from the council.

There could be substantial savings in the long term though. A report before cabinet said private care home providers often applied “top-up” fees to councils which commissioned beds, eating into their care budgets.

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Expensive

Nursing homes are particularly expensive because residents with advanced dementia, for example, need more supervision. “It is not unusual for these providers to charge in excess of £2,500 per week, and currently we do not have this provision for people with nursing needs in-house which means we have no control over this part of the market,” said the report. “If there was greater availability in the market of this type of placement the cost would be significantly closer to the standard dementia nursing rate (£1,280.65 per week).”

The council is also looking to build a nursing home within the Pentre Awel health and life sciences complex in Llanelli, and is considering another one in the Carmarthen area. New technology could be trialled at the replacement Plas Y Bryn home such as sensors in residents’ rooms alerting staff to falls, wearable gadgets monitoring their vital signs, and tech allowing doctors to diagnose some conditions remotely.

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Energy-efficient 

Cllr Tremlett, cabinet member for health and social services, said the new energy-efficient home at Plas Y Bryn, subject to planning consent and funding approval, would open in the first quarter of 2027-28. People will have a chance to look more closely at the proposals as part of a pre-application consultation shortly.

Cllr Linda Evans, cabinet member for homes, said the project was a big step for the council. “It will be of benefit to a lot of families and individuals,” she said. “The demand is great out there.”