Liverpool care home to shut after accruing £3m deficit since 2013

At its last inspection the care home was rated as "requires improvement"

A care home has given 28 residents four weeks to find alternative accommodation after it ran up a £3m deficit.

James Nugent Court in Aigburth, Liverpool, which can accommodate up 56 people, had become unsustainable, a Nugent spokesman said.

Up to 58 full-time and part-time staff are facing redundancy.

Families of residents and staff at the home have told the Local Democracy Reporting Service they are devastated by the news.

'Difficult decision'

The move follows the recent closure of two other care homes in Liverpool in the last few weeks - Edinburgh Park, in Clubmoor and Amberleign House, in Fazakerley.

One resident's relative, who did not want to be named, said: "There are people who have been in this home for six years - it is their home.

"How are their families and the staff supposed to deal with this before Christmas?"

A relative of one of the care home workers, who also did not want to be named, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service the job losses meant already "strained" families would now be pushed "to the absolute limit".

A spokesman for Nugent said the funding crisis in adult social care had taken an extreme toll on the charity's finances and it was set to operate at a £1m loss this year with an overall deficit of £3m, a position he called "unsustainable".

He said it had been consulting on the closure since February and working with commissioners and other providers to explore the best possible outcomes for residents and staff

"We will be looking to offer staff redeployment opportunities across the organisation where appropriate," the spokesman added.

He said it was hoping to identify an alternative provider but "efforts to date have proved unsuccessful" leaving it with no alternative but to "take the difficult decision" to close it.

At its last inspection by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in November 2018, the home, which currently provides care for 28 people, in Ullet Road was rated as "requires improvement".