Cumbria care homes to close as staff shortages hit

Care home bosses said they are struggling to recruit staff

Two care homes in Cumbria are to close due to worker shortages which have been blamed on Brexit, Covid-19 and staff moving into other jobs for better pay.

Barrock Court in Low Heskett, which is owned by Advinia, is set to close permanently while Cumbria County Council-run Maudes Meadow in Kendal will shut for at least six months.

Residents from both will be re-homed elsewhere, operators said.

Councillor Patricia Bell said it was an "absolutely exceptional" situation.

'Burn out'

Barrock Court, which was rated as "requires improvement" by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in May, has 28 rooms while Maudes Meadow has 11 residents who will be re-homed.

An Advinia spokesman said the home had been "hit hard by the lack of availability of qualified care staff in recent months".

"Repeated efforts were made by the company to retain and recruit staff, by way of generous incentives and pay rises, but regrettably this has been to no avail," he said.

The spokesman added: "We appreciate that this will be a difficult time for some residents, and we will do all we can to support them."

Karolina Gerlich of the Care Workers' Charity said there had been a combination of factors causing the "worst staffing crisis we have ever had in social care" including "burn out due to Covid" and "immigration policy around Brexit".

She also said the compulsory vaccination of care workers against coronavirus was causing some to leave the profession.

Patricia Bell, councillor for adult social care in Cumbria, said there had been a "whole set" of "absolutely exceptional" circumstances hitting homes that were already "really stressed" by the pandemic.

'Perfect sense'

"It is our worst fears being realised," she said, adding it had been "really difficult to attract paid carers".

She told BBC Radio Cumbria the council had two homes in close proximity, both of which had struggled to recruit.

"It makes perfect sense to make sure one home is sustained by moving residents from one to the other and making sure we have a really well-staffed home," she said,

She said occupancy in care homes did go down during the pandemic because "sadly many people died", and there was a "increasing desire" for more people to be cared for in their own houses rather than in care homes.

The closure of Maudes Meadow will be reviewed in March.