Delight as care home wins a reprieve
RESIDENTS and staff at a care home which was set to close say they are delighted after bosses agreed to keep it open for at least another six months.
The Dell on Sibley Street, facing Gorton Market, was set to shut for good after the building was deemed ‘unfit for purpose’ by the council and charity bosses in September.
It left around 30 worried elderly residents facing a move to a new home. Together with staff, they launched a campaign to ‘Save The Dell’.
It has now been announced it will remain open for another six months at least.
The building is owned by Manchester council but the service is provided by charity Community Integrated Care.
CIC previously said it was no longer suitable for people with ‘complex needs’ and that decreasing numbers of referrals had seen them having to subsidise it by £100,000 for the past three years.
But the council has now agreed to use vacant beds as intermediary care places for people leaving hospital over the Christmas and winter period.
It means the home can stay open until at least March.
Town hall chiefs say they are ‘keeping an open mind’ about what will happen to the building after that. Coun Bev Craig said: “We have been moved by the response from local residents and families, the home’s staff and local community in coming together to try and keep the home open.”
Kate Corbishley, a team leader at the home and part of the campaign to save it, said: “It’s amazing news that we’re staying open for at least six months.”
Mark Adams, chief executive at CIC, said: “This has been a very worrying time for everyone connected to the home. I would like to thank all of our dedicated colleagues for their continued professionalism and compassionate support during this time.”