Families have spoken of their devastation after a Gateshead care home announced it will no longer be providing nursing care to their loved ones.
Hadrian Healthcare Group, which owns Manor House in Whickham, has confirmed that it will soon be stopping the nursing care provision at the home for financial reasons. This means that the relatives of the 17 residents affected will now have to find new homes that can provide the level of care they need.
Hadrian Healthcare Group, which was founded by chairman Ian Watson, told Chronicle Live there is no fixed date for the nursing care to come to an end to give relatives time to find new homes, but admitted that families were not consulted about the process and only informed when the decision had been made.
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The home said families were invited to a meeting to be told in person and anyone unable to attend received a call to inform them.
Jane Collingridge was one of the relatives who received a call to say she would now have to find another home for her cousin, Paul Armstrong, 58, who has Downs Syndrome, dementia and is unable to communicate. Jane said Paul only moved in eight months ago and the family was not given the option to pay more in fees.
She has launched a petition on change.org calling for Manor House in Whickham to reverse its decision to close its nursing care wing, saying the decision would "devastate lives."
Jane said: "They [Manor House] actually said to me they have been in discussion with Gateshead Council for over a year about this but they didn't give us any warning when we looked at putting our cousin in there that this could be on the cards, which is not right."
"I just got a phone call to say that they were closing the nursing ward and I was in so much shock. I said, 'you never gave us any option to pay more for our relatives that are there.'
"They are saying it is for financial reasons but they have not told us how much or asked us if we would like to pay more. They have just made a decision without consulting us.
"All of the families are devastated."
Manor House said it was not able to go into the financial figures behind the decision and confirmed that there would be "a small number of redundancies" as a result of the change.
Jane said she is calling on Manor House to reverse the decision or "see out the current contract" with its current residents needing nursing care.
She continued: "Our mum, who is in her late 70s, visits Paul every day and it is only an eight-minute walk for her. One of us visits every single day and that's one of the reasons why we moved Paul there because we are all Whickham based - but that would change dramatically if he had to leave.
"They have just chosen not to look after this sector of society that needs it the most.
"It is like they are picking and choosing who they want to look after. Families are very stressed and upset about it."
Manor House said it was a "difficult decision" but that costs had "restricted its ability to provide a sustainable service."
A Manor House spokeswoman said: “The decision to close the nursing care element of the service at our home has been a very difficult one, and it has taken a long time to get to this position.
“While we appreciate that this service is much needed in our local community, we are now at the stage where we are unable to continue to provide nursing care on the basis that the NHS and ICB nursing fee arrangements remain at levels that do not take our costs into consideration and continually restrict our ability to provide a sustainable service.
“Over the last twelve months, the local authority has taken the time to listen to our concerns and, whilst they understand our position, we are advised that they themselves are constrained to work within their own budgets.
“Over the years, we have developed and maintained an outstanding service and a very competent and stable group of registered nurses who are well trained and confident in providing excellent care for our residents, together with the wider care team. We are proud of what we have achieved and are deeply saddened by the decision we have had to make.
“We appreciate that this is a difficult time for everyone involved and we have done our utmost to communicate with all those involved in a sensitive and timely manner. Our focus and priority during this transitional period is to support our residents, their families and any employees who may be affected by this change.”
To view and sign the petition visit: https://www.change.org/p/hadrian-health-care-group-to-reverse-decision-to-close-nursing-wing
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