Care home and hospital set to shut
11 residents and patients affected
A CARE home and mental health hospital are both set to close with the loss of all jobs – due to ‘a lack of funding.’
Staff at Mitchell House Nursing Home in Kidsgrove and Edith Shaw Hospital in Leek, both run by John Munroe Group, were told on Monday that the facilities would be closing down, with all workers being made redundant.
The announcement comes just months after the closure of John Munroe Hospital in Rudyard, which was run by the same company.
Chief executive Paul Birks emailed staff to tell them ‘with a heavy heart’ about the ‘impending closure’ of the facilities, saying that ‘funders have unilaterally decided they are no longer willing to continue to support the organisation.’
Mr Birks said workers would be paid as normal on Wednesday, but then all staff would be made redundant. The company is now working with the NHS and Staffordshire County
Council to ensure the safe transfer of all patients and residents.
Mitchell House, which only opened under its current operator last September, was rated as inadequate by the Care Quality Commission
following an inspection in December.
Edith Shaw Hospital, a women’s mental health hospital which currently has four patients, received a ‘requires improvement’ grade from the CQC in March, having previously been rated as inadequate. John Munroe Hospital was rated as
inadequate and in special measures when it closed.
A spokesman for Stoke-ontrent and Staffordshire Clinical Commissioning Groups said: “We are aware that the John Munroe Group, the owners of the Edith
Shaw Hospital, are planning to close the hospital due to financial difficulties.
“The CCGS are working with other partners, the patients and their families to ensure a suitable placement can be found for each patient, and we shall maintain a presence on-site while patients remain there.
“The safety of patients is our utmost priority and measures are in place to ensure they remain safe until a suitable transfer can be arranged.”
Paul Northcott, Staffordshire County Council’s Cabinet support member for public health and integrated care, said: “We were informed at the weekend that the owners of Mitchell House would be closing the nursing home at short notice.
We are working with the owners, o”ther public agencies and the seven residents and their families to support transfers to new homes where their needs can be met.
“Our priority now is to ensure that residents are safe and settled in their new homes as soon as possible.” He added: “We will also be providing employment support to staff including details of any current local vacancies.”
John Munroe Group has been approached for a comment.