Bungay care home facing '£1.2m loss' to close down

Norse Care is closing the All Hallows residential care home at the end of January

A care home "no longer fit for purpose" will close at the end of January, the operating company has said.

Norse Care said All Hallows in Bungay, on the Norfolk-Suffolk border, needed "substantial investment" and faced a loss of "£1.2m annually".

The home has 48 beds and provides nursing care for older people.

"The building is longer fit for purpose and limits Norse Care's ability to deliver high-quality care within this establishment," a spokesman said.

"All Hallows would require substantial investment to offer the quality of care residents deserve."

'Absorbing beds'

In a statement published on Tuesday, Alison Holmes, business development director for Norse Care, added: "We recognise the changing care needs of the country, including the growing demand for more complex care and dementia care, and we want to best meet these evolving needs by focusing and investing where we can have the most significant impact."

Residents and their families would be assisted to find alternative placements at other Norse care homes with vacancies, the company said.

A spokesman also said a formal consultation was being held with staff and unions and "attempts would be made to redeploy existing employees".

Raj Sehgal runs five care homes in west Norfolk and is on the board of directors at the National Care Association.

"The loss of 48 beds in isolation will be easily absorbed by the number of beds available in the community," he said.

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Mr Sehgal said it was important to recognise why "Norfolk's largest and probably best funded provider" was facing financial struggles.

"It's not just a question of paying for the care, but also how we are going to fund an aging infrastructure of buildings," he said.

"If capital investment in our building stock is not made, then we will see further closures over time and a further shrinkage in beds."

Norse care said its care home building at Bungay no longer met residents' needs

Norse Care is owned by Norfolk County Council. A spokesman for the council said Norse Care was responsible for all operational decisions related to All Hallows.

It is the largest care provider in the county, delivering services to about 1,500 people in residential care homes and housing with care schemes.