The daughter of a Craw Wood resident has said the potential closure of the area’s only specialist dementia unit would be a huge blow for the Borders.
Christina Procter’s mother Jillian Sinnott, 75, moved to the Tweedbank care home in 2012, but she fears a move to another home could have serious implications for her mother.
She told The Southern: “The staff at Craw Wood are absolutely brilliant as they know how to work with dementia patients, and to lose the unit would be absolutely ludicrous as there is a growing need for this type of facility.
“We have been so happy and confident with the care that my mum has been getting, and she is a happier and more relaxed person than she was before moving to Craw Wood.”
Mrs Procter said she hopes that operators Eildon Housing and the council can find a way to keep Craw Wood open.
“I know it is probably a fight we are going to lose, but I think it is a worthy fight for the Borders as it is a service that is needed,” she said.
Mrs Procter added that she is worried that if her mother has to be moved elsewhere then specialist care will not be available to her.
“I just feel that mum, who worked for the NHS for a significant part of her working life, and worked as a dementia nurse in Edinburgh, now seems to be being let down by the system as what she needs and what she gets, which is fantastic for her, is now being thrown away.”
With increasing numbers of people being diagnosed with dementia, and more at a relatively young age, even in their 50s, Mrs Proctor fears for other people too.
“If you don’t have that specialist care facility then younger people with dementia will be in old people’s homes and that is not the place for them, and it will cause problems,” she said.
“People with dementia can agitate other residents with their behaviour. They are high risk.
“Mum is a wanderer. She walks round the home, but she can do a nice circuit at Craw Wood and the staff are really good with her. She is safe, secure and happy.
“All the other relatives understand – they understand that their relative will do things that annoy other residents and relatives too.”