90 face redundancy as Care UK closes dementia home

A Poole care home which looks after up to 50 people with dementia, is due to shut after a change in the contract between Borough of Poole and Care UK, which provides the council’s dementia services.

At two meetings held on yesterday, care staff were told the home is due to close this summer.

Speaking to local newspaper, the Bournemouth Echo, a member of staff said: “We are all in quite a lot of shock at the moment. We were told there is going to be a lot of redundancies.”

She said every member of staff, 80-90 were being made redundant. “We were left wondering how we are going to pay the bills. Who is going to employ that number of people?”

Another staff member in fear of losing her job said: “It’s very upsetting for the residents. It’s a big disruption for them having to move.”

A statement from Care UK said: “At this stage, we can’t say what precisely will happen to team members once the home closes later this year.

“We will start a formal consultation process involving unions and employee representatives very soon.

“We are a large provider of social care which means that we can offer a range of career opportunities across the country for people who are able to be flexible about where they work.

“And we fully expect that there will be some jobs at our other Poole home – The Potteries.”

The petition calling for the home to remain open will be presented to Care UK and Borough of Poole.

Meeting with residents families were due to be held on Monday.

Cllr Karen Rampton, cabinet portfolio holder for health and well-being, Borough of Poole, said: “We are aware that Mitchell House is a popular home amongst both residents and relatives and this is seen through the feedback we have received and the creation of the online petition.

“However, the building at Mitchell House is not suitable for modern dementia care, the rooms are not en-suite, and extensive refurbishment is required which would be extremely costly and is not a long-term solution.

“The decision to close Mitchell House was extremely difficult and our priority is to ensure the impact on residents is minimised.

“We encourage residents to visit the Potteries and other accommodation and will be offering support through this period to ensure as seamless transition as possible.”