TORFAEN council is still trying to re-house 19 vulnerable care home residents, a month after private company HC-One decided to close St Dunstan’s care home in Griffithstown.

A council spokesman said: “The situation can change daily but all partners are working to ensure that vulnerable residents at St. Dunstan’s secure alternative homes with as little disruption to their care as possible.

“Six residents have secured new care placements in other homes, three are in hospital due to illness and the remaining 19 residents have had all their care needs reassessed and new placements are actively being sought for them.”

HC-One announced last month that Griffithstown home was to close because “layout and environment of the home combined with the difficulty in attracting suitably qualified staff meant they had to make the very difficult decision to close it.”

It was a decision branded “disgusting” by one person who had a family member in the home.

Torfaen officials have been in ongoing discussions, both with HC-One and the development company who own the land the home is on ever since to try and find a way forward.

HC-One have pledged to keep the home open until the end of October, but in a worst case scenario it appears that any residents who’ve still been unable to find a new home would have to be transferred to a hospital.

The council has implemented what it terms its home closure protocol which dictates that Torfaen must keep families informed.

It also sets out a timetable so that staff from multiple agencies involved such as social services and health board officials, for example, don’t all descend on the home at the same time, in order to minimise disruption for the residents, most of whom suffer with Alzheimer's and dementia.

The council also assured families that once their loved ones had been moved into a new placement, carers would continue to monitor their progress for several weeks.