Manx Care needs extra £1.5m to run new Douglas home

Summerhill View is to replace the existing Reayrt ny Baie Douglas care home

Manx Care needs an extra £1.5m in its budget to run a new care home in Douglas, the healthcare body has said.

Summerhill View on Victoria Road is due to replace the smaller home, Reayrt ny Baie, on Albert Terrace.

Manx Care is looking for an independent provider to run the centre, which is nearly completed.

Chief Executive Teresa Cope said the 60-bed complex would need an "additional 38 to 40 additional staff" at an estimated added cost of £1.5m.

She said: "There's a significant funding gap between the income we receive and what it costs to run those services, and in a very challenging budget time it's important we look at value for money."

The decision to look for expressions of interest was down to both the "increased physical size of the building" and changes that had to be made because of the Regulation of Care Act, which came in while Summerhill View was being planned.

The new home, with 60 ensuite bedrooms, will be larger than the "antiquated" and "impractical" current facility on Albert Terrace.

Teresa Cope said Reayrt ny Baie staff and residents would not be affected

Ms Cope said Manx Care was "testing the market" to find a more "cost effective" option, but that it had not ruled out running the home itself if a suitable provider could not be found.

She said she also wanted to assure staff and residents at Reayrt ny Baie that they would not be affected.

"The residents will still transfer into Summerhill View as planned," she said, adding: "We have given staff the categoric assurance that there will be no redundancies and anyone who doesn't want to transfer to Summerhill View will be redeployed into Manx Care.

"It would definitely be the preferred route for Manx Care to run Summerhill View ourselves."

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