A CARE home is scrapping its nursing service after struggling to recruit enough nurses – meaning 27 of its 35 residents will have to move elsewhere.

Bosses from HC-One Avandale Lodge, in Lostock Gralam, have tonight (June 13) met with relatives of those affected to announce they are deregistering the home – having failed to recruit enough permanent nursing staff to run the service effectively.

It means that the home will stop providing nursing care and instead become a home primarily for residents with dementia.

The changes will come into effect once the 27 affected residents have found alternative accommodation, and both Cheshire West and Chester Council and NHS Vale Royal clinical commissioning group (CCG) are now working with their relatives to secure new homes.

A spokesman for Avandale Lodge said: “The health, safety and wellbeing of our residents are always our top priorities.

READ > Improvements needed at Avandale Lodge

“Despite a very significant investment of time and resources, we have been unable to recruit and retain the right numbers of permanent nurses due to the severe national shortage of nurses and strong competition from local NHS services.

“Without a permanent nursing team, trained to our standards and aligned with our values, the reliance on agency nurses has meant we have found it difficult to provide consistency in care.

“This situation has now become untenable, and we have therefore made the difficult decision to no longer provide nursing care services at the home.

“This decision does not affect residents with residential or residential dementia care needs, as the home will remain open and continue to provide these services.

“Our team is already working closely with residents with nursing care needs, their loved ones, the CCG and the local authority to make sure we find suitable new nursing care placements that meet everyone’s individual needs.

“A full package of support has been put in place for affected colleagues, and we hope both colleagues and residents with nursing needs will choose to move to one of our sister homes in the local area.”

Avandale Lodge, in Manchester Road, was given a ‘requires improvement’ rating by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) following its last two inspections in March and October 2018.

READ > Lostock nursing home fails to make significant improvements

The CQC criticised the home’s reliance on agency nursing staff last March, and while it found that ‘some improvements had been made’ by last October, all registered nurses working night shifts were agency rather than permanent staff.

HC-One also runs the next-door care home Acorn Hollow, Daneside Court, in Chesterway, and Overdene House, in Winsford.

All three will continue running nursing services, unaffected by the decision on Avandale Lodge, and some residents and staff could move on to the nearby HC-One nursing homes.

In a joint statement, CWAC and the CCG said: “Following HC-One’s decision to stop providing nursing care at Avandale Lodge in Northwich our priority is to support the residents and their families receiving care there.

“Face-to-face meetings have taken place with residents, their families and staff at the home and we will now work to find alternative accommodation solutions that meet the individual needs of each resident.

“Care plans for each resident will be worked through with them and their family or advocate. Their safety and care are paramount in this. Our dedicated team will continue to work with HC-One to ensure a smooth transition for all residents.

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“Older people in care have the right to expect that they will be safe and protected. HC-One has acknowledged that at times it has struggled to consistently provide the high-quality care residents and their loved ones expect and rightfully deserve, due to a shortage of nursing staff nationally. We have worked together with them over the past 12 months to make necessary improvements.

“Finding the right accommodation for each resident and ensuring they aren’t distressed by the move will remain our priority and we’d like to reassure people of this in in what may be a complex and difficult time.”

Anyone with concerns about Avandale Lodge can make an appointment with CWAC’s adult social care community access team by calling 0300 123 7034.