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ONE PAPER ... ALL THE NEWS from Dewsbury, Batley, Ossett, Mirfield, Liversedge, Birstall, Heckmondwike, Cleckheaton & Spen Valley
Friday July 24, 2015
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No. 695
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Tuneful Rams are bold as brass
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HOME CLOSURES 60 jobs at risk, residents must move By David Miller News Reporter davidmiller@thepressnews.co.uk
TWO care homes in Dewsbury will shut in the coming weeks with the potential loss of 60 jobs. Sunnyside, on Oxford Road, and West House, on Quarry Road, are both run by Northfields Care Homes Ltd. The Dewsbury-based firm also had their Oxford Grange home closed in May after a visit from inspectors. Residents, staff and carers were told of Sunnyside’s closure at a meeting on Monday, attended by owner Surinder Khurana. He confirmed to The Press that West House is also affected and will close over the same four to six-week period. Mr Khurana blamed his own failing health and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and added: “I can’t deliver their requirements in the timescale demanded.” He said staff have been given redundancy notices and was sorry for the outcome. Mr Khurana said: “I wanted to give residents the longest time to find another place rather than have the CQC come in and do it for me.” In May Kirklees Council ordered Oxford Grange’s closure after being told of provisional CQC findings. When inspectors released their final report last month the care home was brand-
ed inadequate across the board. The CQC have since visited both Sunnyside and West House and reports are pending. A spokesman said: “I can confirm the CQC is aware of the situation and will continue to monitor it as closely as possible.” Kirklees Council and CQC officials attended Monday’s meeting at Sunnyside with residents, carers and staff. A source, who was there but did not want to be named, visits a relative with dementia. She described Sunnyside as “wonderful” and wanted to know why the care home cannot be sold on. “Everything else is going well so we wanted to know why it couldn’t be put up for sale, but no answer was given,” she said. The source said the car park and rooms had been renovated while food was described as “out of this world”. She said she had no concerns about the care of her relative and also praised staff. “When I came out of that meeting I was devastated,” she said. “I feel for the lovely staff who might now lose their jobs.” As was the case at Oxford Grange, relatives were given brochures about other local care homes. The source said: “We’ve got short notice to arrange an alternative. In our case there’s few other care homes that take Alzheimer’s patients.
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