The principle objective of the Leslie House 21 Group was to frustrate the closure of Leslie House until, as far as possible, the physical, mental and social well being of the residents was secured. That principle objective has now been realised and in that regard the Group is claiming success.

The achievement owes no thanks to the members and some officials of the Board of Social Responsibility of the Church of Scotland who demonstrated a breathtaking degree of uncaring imperious arrogance. (It must be noted that the Church's Director of Social Work, Mr. Ian Manson, did not take up his post until after the Board's policy on the matter had long since been determined. It is also to be noted that the Board did not enter into partnership working until after Mr Mason took up his post. The Group does not believe that those circumstances are co-incidental.) No thanks either to the administration of F ife Council, which did nothing to help the Group in its work and which actually supported a Motion endorsing the action of Mike Sawyer, the Council's Head of Social Work,to go into Court and obtain Orders so that he could resort to the force of law and have the residents apprehended by the Police and forcibly removed from their home.

It took a year to get the Social Work Service of Fife Council to do its job, but, eventually, the Council worked in partnership to achieve full multi- disciplinary assessments of need, which were initially rejected by the Head of Social Work and his management team. These assessments eventually included clinical assessments by old age psychiatrists and by occupational therapists. The residents, therefore, benefited from a range of input by clinicians who could assess from a base of evidence what needed to be done in the best interests of the residents. Managers in Fife Council social work service had wrongly and needlessly pursued a policy of individual review and relocation in full denial of clinical evidence about how the needs of mentally and physically frail older people must be addressed when a longstanding care home closes

There were 21 residents in Leslie House when the proposal to close it was announced on April 18th 2002. Since then, one resident, who was on respite care, went home, one resident was moved by the Council, seven were moved by their relatives (at least one of whom has since died) and five died.

The seven remaining residents were moved from Leslie House by their relatives on 27th and 28th of May. The last resident to leave was 93 year old May Vettraino, who had lived in Leslie House for over 15 years. Their new home is Alan McLure House in Glenrothes. Alan McLure House is a modern well managed home, which is operated by the Fife Council. Six of the residents are together in one of the home's five units. The Leslie H ouse 21 Group sees keeping the residents together as fundamental to minimising the adverse effects of moving old, frail and demented people. T hat view is strongly supported by psychiatric opinion. Notwithstanding, one of the residents has been placed in one of the home's other units. It remains to be seen if that circumstance will have any significant consequences. Moving the staff, with which the residents are familiar, is also seen as being fundamental to the management of the risks, which are associated with such a move. Thanks to the efforts of the Group, the Board of Social Responsibility and the Fife Council ultimately followed psychiatric advice and have eventually worked together in that regard. As a consequence, five members of the Leslie House s taff have moved with the residents and now share the responsibility of caring for the residents with other staff in Alan McLure House.

The Leslie House 21 Group is delighted with the very high standard of care, which is being provided by Lorna McNicoll, the Unit Manager at Alan McLure House and her staff. The Unit Manager has sought to organise the resources, which are available to her, so as to meet the needs of the residents in the best possible way. So far, the seven residents seem to be settling in well and are not exhibiting any adverse reaction to the move. Dr Stella Clarke, Medical Director of Fife Primary care NHS Trust, and a consultant in old age psychiatry is taking a proactive interest in monitoring the situation and advising regarding their care. The Group realises, however, that it is still early days and that adverse reactions do not always immediately manifest themselves.

The critical period may not be over, but the Leslie House 21 Group is optimistic.