In 2010 beloved community institution and educational figure-stone Drumbrae Primary School was closed despite efforts from the local community with government and council officials citing many ageing community demographic and under performing school capacities. Although the community was hurt by the decision to close the school that many residents and resident's children called their home, the community moved on together and in 2013 Drumbrae Care Home was built to provide support and crucial care to the vulnerable individuals within our beloved community. Since 2013 Drumbrae Care-home and its staff have proudly provide care to a multitude of residents from all walks of life for many years now, including throughout the incredibly difficult COVID-19 pandemic.

In June of 2021, staff of Drumbrae care home were suddenly made aware that the home was one of five council-run homes in Edinburgh set to be closed with the intention of utilising the newly constructed building to act as the new base of operations for the former Liberton Hospital and would end the care home’s commitment and focus on protecting and providing care to the residents of Edinburgh. The process of closing Drumbrae care home and repurposing it as the new base of operations for Liberton Hospital would not only cause the loss of employment for hundreds of council staff members who have worked throughout the recent pandemic to provide care, with no promises of appropriate or suitable redeployment, but would also have astronomical implications on the lives and health of the homes residents and residents families. The home currently operates as a 60 bed unit, allowing the facility to provide specialised and ongoing face-to-face care for elderly members of society, often forgotten about and not considered by our council representatives who instead prioritise the financial linings of the council be it by poor funding or irresponsible budget cuts.

Excluding private care providers within the area, the nearest care facilities to Drumbrae care home are upwards of an hour away [in the form of Royston Court Care Home, with Fords Road, Clovenstone, Jewel House and Ferrylee care facilities also set for closure this uproots upwards of 236 vulnerable elderly residents.
Imagine being told that within eleven days (the time between annoucement and decision), you could be ejected from your home, your place of safety and comfort because you are considered not an adequate priority for the council you
have worked for and provide with taxes for multiple decades. Not only is the logistical error of uprooting 236+ vulnerable and many on end of life support
residents completely impractical, with the potential of causing massive bed-blocking within public hospitals due to lack of suitable council-funded care facility spaces but additionally many of the vulnerable and helpless residents of Drumbrae Care Home will be unable to re-adjust to the move, putting their lives in massive risks and forcing residents to re-adjust their way of life and also creates potentially massive issues with receiving family visits as many residents family members are also elderly and vulnerable and thus asking them to commute an additional hour to visit their family is unjust, unethical and unacceptable. It is the first responsibility, in a democratic society to protect and safeguard the lives of its citizens, as is written in the basis of parliament.

Ask yourself this, who does this serve? Who does this protect? It is very much not the staff or residents of Drumbrae Care Home. This appears instead a blatant attempt to save on capital resources by taking over a modern and
well equipped building rather than investing funds into improving the four other homes that are being closed due to inadequate facilities. With MP’s basic wages increasing 3.1% this year there is clearly the funds available to improve
the facilities and relocate Liberton without impacting the vulnerable care home residents who are a crucial part of our community.

Drumbrae and Clermiston has always prided itself on its community and togetherness, from the community Gala, to the neighbourly and welcoming tone of our area. These residents are a part of our community and much like none of us would like to lose our home, these residents do not deserve to lose theirs either and more concerning this move and relocation could lead to many of these residents losing their lives as well. With advancements in medicine and medical care, the global life expectancy is rising. The life expectancy in Scotland has risen from around 67 years to 79 years across the last decade, the impact of a rising life expectancy causes a greater demand for elderly care facilities such as Drumbrae Care Home. Furthermore the rapidly growing population of the Drumbrae and Clermiston area calls for an additional requirement for facilities such as Drumbrae Care home as more elderly individuals move into the area the demand for care grows. Closing any care home during a period of population expansion is questionable at best, deliberately short-sighted at worse however when you apply this to an area as densely and aged-populated as Drumbrae and Clermiston, the logic becomes truly obtuse. In summation, not only is the forced rehoming of hundreds of vulnerable elderly individuals incredibly high risk, it is also incredibly immoral. Every human being has a right to their home, and although the council and government would like you to treat care homes as business they are also these individuals homes and for many the final place they will call that.

Additionally, creating large scale job loss for a sector of work that has put themselves in a position of incredible high risk over the last 18 months of the COVID-19 pandemic is incredibly inhumane. Workers of all areas of public health service from the NHS to Care Home works deserve praise and recognition for their efforts during the pandemic, not to be made unemployed. Finally, let me remind you why this action is being taken. Is it to better the area of Drumbrae and Clermiston? No. Is it to create a better future for our children and a better now for our parents?
No. Is it to save finances and to scrimp and save in an already underfunded and under appreciated section of the public sector. Yes.

Please look into your hearts, imagine your parents, grandparents or even yourself as a resident of the home and imagine the impact this would have on your health. If you look into this and look at the consequences and risks, I believe you will see why I implore you to sign this petition and to take any action you can to save our care home and to save our residents.

Thank You.