South Shields care home closure will cost 30 jobs

MORE than 20 disabled pensioners are looking for a new place to live after their care home closes. Bosses at High Dene Residential Home, in Stanley Street, South Shields, say it has been losing money for years, forcing them to take the “difficult decision” to close it.

The move also means up to 30 staff will lose their jobs. The home’s 23 residents were told the home will shut as soon as residents find suitable living arrangements.

One of those is 73-year-old dementia sufferer Georgina Brash, who moved in just 18 months ago.

Her daughter Deborah Roberts, 50, from South Shields, said: “My mum’s really unhappy because it’s taken her a while to settle in and she loves it.

“She had to give up her home to move here and this is just causing more stress, not only for her, but for the family as well.

“It’s really sad that all the residents will have to find somewhere else to live now. The staff have been fantastic to the residents as well.

“The families were told we have about three months to sort something out.”

The residential home provides 24-hour care for up to 25 elderly people with physical disabilities and moderate dementia.

Angela Hunt, head of operations for Anchor Homes, which owns the care home, said staff and residents will be offered support throughout the closure process.

She added: “This was an extremely difficult decision, and it was only taken after a detailed review and after we had explored all other avenues.

“Our priority from this point forward is to work with local authority to help residents find suitable alternative care homes.

“We appreciate that this will be an uncertain time for residents and their relatives and we will do all that we can to support them.”

Ms Hunt said: “The two biggest contributory factors were that the home has operated at a loss for a number of years and despite continued investment, its age, size and layout mean it is not possible to further improve the efficiency without affecting the quality of care provided.”

High Dene, which has been open almost 20 years, is one of six Anchor-owned homes closing across the country, including one in Sunderland. The chain has 102 homes in England.