Brixworth care home to close as refurbishment 'not viable'

Boniface House is tucked away behind the library in Brixworth

A struggling care home is to be shut after officials decided refurbishment work was "not viable".

The final 13 elderly residents at Boniface House in Brixworth, Northamptonshire, will be moved to other care homes.

The Care Quality Commission rated the home as "requiring improvement" after its most recent inspection.

Among the issues with the home were a leaky roof, poor accessibility and a lack of en suite facilities.

Boniface House was purpose-built about 40 years ago on Spratton Road, behind the library in Brixworth.

It has 46 single rooms but there are only 13 residents at the moment.

In October 2022, the roof failed and water starting leaking inside the home.

Residents had to be moved to safe areas and it became clear that the door frames of their rooms were too narrow for modern beds to be wheeled through.

It is also difficult for wheelchairs and hoists to be brought into the building.

Shared bathrooms

In addition, none of the rooms in the building have en suite facilities so bathrooms are shared by as many as eight residents.

West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) launched a public consultation on the future of Boniface House and 82% of the respondents were in favour of modernising the care home.

Councillor Matt Golby, the Conservative cabinet member for adult care on West Northamptonshire Council, told a meeting this week that the option of redevelopment was "not viable due to the extent of work".

Residents would also have to be moved during the refurbishment, to only "move them back in later".

He added: "We have exhausted all options and the proposal to close this care home has not been easy to make.

"I understand that this proposal may cause concern and worry for residents, relatives, and our staff and we will work with them closely through the closure process."

There are four other council-run homes in the West Northamptonshire area and the closest is five miles away in Kingsthorpe.

The deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats on WNC, councillor Jonathan Harris, reflected on the "huge upheaval" that it would cause to the affected families.

He said he hoped "careful consideration is given to where those residents are relocated".