Care home closure will destroy lives, say families

The families of residents at Acorn Lodge fear for their relatives' lives

The families of people living in a nursing home that is set to close have said they fear their loved ones' lives will be destroyed.

Sixty-eight residents of Acorn Lodge in Failsworth, Greater Manchester, will have to find somewhere else to live.

Some families, who have formed an action group to oppose the closure, fear the upheaval will be fatal for their elderly relatives.

The home's owners blamed the decision to close on rising costs.

Oldham Property Investments said it wanted to sell it to another care company that will convert it into a home for people with brain injuries.

"We've no idea what to do," Linda Walsh, whose mum has been a resident for five years.

She told the Local Democracy Reporting Service her mum is non-verbal but the staff know her every move.

Ms Walsh added: "They know what every gesture means, because over the five years, they've seen it all develop.

"She's not going to get that anywhere else.

"If they move her - she'll die.

"And there are residents who are in a worse state than mum.

"Moving them is just going to kill them."

Erin Rowan, whose grandmother is in the home, said: "To say my grandma is heartbroken about the move is an understatement.

"She's being ripped from her home."

'Devastating decision'

Sisters Alison Simkiss and Caroline Walsh said they had been losing sleep over where to rehome their mother.

They said they paid around £800 a week privatelym but faced charges nearly double that figure in other homes.

"We simply can't afford that. It feels terrible. What are we going to do?", Ms Simkiss said.

Residents were originally given ten weeks to leave the home, with the closure set for 31 July, but the owners added a six month extension to give them all time to move out.

The care home said funding was not rising in line with costs, and closing the home before it started to struggle financially was the best option.

The new operator would re-open Acorn Lodge as a specialist home after "extensively upgrading and refurbishing" the current building, a company spokesman added.

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