GSD demands clarity on Rooke modular project

News that the long-delayed Rooke Elderly Care Facility will be ready by July has “sparked more confusion than confidence”, the GSD said on Thursday.

The Opposition was reacting after GBC reported that the project would be completed by July and that two UK companies had expressed interest in purchasing or renting the facility.

The final use of the facility remains unclear at this stage, though Health and Care Minister Gemma Arias-Vasquez told Parliament last week that there were no plans to relocate residents from Mount Alvernia to the Rooke facility “at this stage”.

For the GSD, that raised a fundamental question: who is the Rooke facility for?

“To date, there has been little transparency around the Rooke facility, who will operate it, and under what terms,” said Shadow Minister for Care and the ERS, Atrish Sanchez.

“The community deserves to know whether this facility will serve our elderly population as originally promised, or whether the goalposts have quietly moved.”

The GSD asked about the companies that had shown interest in the project and how these expressions of interest had come about.

In relation to the operation of the building as a potential elderly care home, the Opposition called on the Government to urgently clarify whether local care providers would be given a fair and equal opportunity to participate, “or will they be excluded from the process altogether?”

“These concerns are particularly pressing in light of the recent failures surrounding the Domiciliary Care and Home Support services where the company that was awarded, the contract had to be terminated after less than a year with the minister acknowledging that the company did not properly understand Gibraltar’s care and cultural context,” the GSD said.

“Gibraltar cannot afford a repeat of that mistake of due diligence by the Government.”

The Opposition added that “serious questions” remain about the suitability and safety of the Rooke building itself.