100-year-old veteran forced to live elsewhere as Northamptonshire care home closes

ITV Anglia's Ravneet Nandra spoke to families angry about the closure of Ridgeway House

The family of a 100-year-old veteran say she is being forced out of her care home because the council has decided to close it.

Vera Harman moved into the only council-owned home in Towcester, Ridgeway House, four years ago.

Her granddaughter, Georgina Lamb, moved to Towcester to be closer to her grandmother and visits her daily. She said her grandmother celebrated her 100th birthday in the home and hoped to live out her remaining years there.

But Ms Lamb says West Northamptonshire Council is yet to contact her about the closure of the care home and where her grandmother will be housed.

"This place I handpicked out of all the homes in the area" she told ITV News Anglia.

"Mainly because of the staff, as soon as I met them, and because it feels like home. It's not too clinical.

"The council hasn't said anything to me. The council hasn't even let me know the home is closing. Nobody has officially let me know. I'm very angry about this."

Vera Harman moved into the only council-owned home in Towcester, Ridgeway House, four years ago. Credit: Georgina Lamb

Vera is one of 15 residents at Ridgeway House being moved elsewhere.

In a meeting, West Northamptonshire Council discussed the grounds of closing the care home.

They said facilities at Ridgeway House are outdated, the top floor is unusable because of health and safety risks, there are no ensuite facilities which means eight residents share a toilet and a Care Quality Commission inspection rated it as 'requires improvement.'Upgrades to the home to maintain basic standards would also cost £1 million over the next ten years.

Christine Hedges' 94-year-old uncle is a resident at Ridgeway House.

She thinks the money used in care home fees could be used elsewhere. "There are so many spaces in a residential home in Towcester which is Brook House which is a privately-owned residence which costs on average between £1200 to £1500 a week" she said.

"This is a lot of money that the council have got to fund and is this going to come out of the ratepayers money?

Upgrades to the home to maintain basic standards would also cost £1 million over the next ten years, says West Northamptonshire council. Credit: ITV Anglia

According to figures from the Care Quality Commission, more than 500 care homes have closed in the UK in the last year alone.Bodies including the National Care Association say lack of funding is just one reason social care is in crisis.

Other factors include a recruitment crisis and the lack of safe and new building developments that are equipped for social care needs. Nadra Ahmed, Chairman of the National Care Association, fears we may see more closures.

"Primary challenges that we face is that underfunding. But also the workforce" she said.

"We need to get a domestic workforce pipeline and we need to acknowledge them and pay them properly.

"Things that we don't talk about is the maintenance of buildings, especially older buildings and we've got quite a lot of old stock in the country. None of that is going to be cheap.

According to figures from the Care Quality Commission, more than 500 care homes have closed in the UK in the last year alone. Credit: ITV Anglia

In a statement, West Northamptonshire council said: "We understand that this news may cause upset and worry for residents and their relatives but our priority is health and safety and being able to provide the right care for them.

"Ridgeway House building facilities fall short of today’s required care standards, present infection control challenges and an inability to manage residents who might have increasingly complex needs.

"If the home didn’t close, low resident numbers will continue to reduce further due to other local care homes offering much better facilities, and residents will have to be moved at a point of crisis for safety, either due to an increased risk of unsafe staffing levels, building challenges, or because they need nursing care not available at Ridgeway House, rather than in a coordinated, pre-planned way which enables us to work with families and residents to secure new placements at preferred locations.

"This has been a difficult decision and after extensive review, this is the only viable option at this point and our focus must now be making sure all the residents find safe, suitable new places in the communities they belong in."

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