Shock as The Gateway Care Home in Bradford is to close

The Gateway Care Home and Respite Centre at Dudley Hill has confirmed it will be shutting, with relatives told their loved ones must find an alternative by December 13.

The care home, off Sticker Lane, was rated as requires improvement by the Care Quality Commission at its last inspection earlier this year, while the respite centre was rated good.

It is not known what the building will be used for, but All Saints Care Limited, which operates both centres, has confirmed that the site has been sold.

The buyer “requires vacant possession” and is expected to carry out a refurbishment once it takes over.

Concerned relatives have contacted the Telegraph & Argus, upset about the timing of the closure shortly before Christmas, and the speed with which the sale has gone through.

READ MORE:

• Bradford care homes remain in special measures after inspection visit
• CQC rates The Gateway Care Home and The Gateway Respite as 'Inadequate'
• Care Quality Commission puts Gateway Care Home in Sticker Lane, Bradford, into special measures

One man, whose wife is a resident of Gateway Care Home, told the T&A that it was “disgusting”.

“I visit my wife there every day and my daughter got a phonecall on the Monday to say they were putting it up for sale.

The Gateway care complex

“Then three days later I had a letter waiting for me when I got home to say it had been sold and we would have to find somewhere else by December 13.

“They’ve got to have known. But even the staff didn’t know – it will have come as a shock to them too.”

The letter which family members received states that: “Following a period of consultation, it is with great sadness and a good deal of regret, we now have to inform you that the Gateway Care Home and the Gateway Respite Home are to be closed.

“We will formally be giving you 28 days notice. The earliest date the care home will close is December 13, 2022.”

Meanwhile, Councillor Hassan Khan (Lab, Bowling and Barkerend) expressed his sympathies to the home’s residents and their families.

He said: “It is sad news for the people who are living there (at the home). It is hardship for their family members. They have got my sympathy. I understand the hardship that they are going to go through. Not just for the families but the people who are living in there.

“We are not getting much help from central government due to funding cuts. This budget is going to be like this.”

At the inspections earlier this year, the care home was said to have 34 residents utilising one of its three floors, and the respite centre had 12 people using its services.

A spokesman for All Saints Care Limited said: “We can confirm that our care home is closing. We have been working very closely with residents, their families and with Bradford Council and social services to relocate all of our residents.

“We are in consultation with our employees with regard to the closure.

“The buyers require vacant possession, and we understand they will commence a refurbishment programme in the New Year.”

Bradford Council said it understood it was a "distressing and worrying time".

A spokesperson said: “Bradford Council has been made aware of the decision to cease operating services at The Gateway Care Residential Home in Bradford by its owners All Saint Care Limited.

"In light of the decision, the Council’s Health and Wellbeing Department and local NHS partners have been working closely with all residents at the care home to support them in finding alternative care home accommodation as quickly and safely as possible.
"We recognise this is a very distressing and worrying time for the residents, their families and carers. The welfare and safety of residents always remains our top priority and all residents will be fully supported during the move by Council social workers, to ensure their care and wellbeing is maintained.”

The purpose-built £8 million care village opened in 2015 as part of a long-term scheme to create a pioneering care village on the Dudley Hill site.

It aimed to be a centre of excellence for dementia and residential care when it opened after five years of planning and consulting with dementia experts at Bradford and Stirling universities, the Contented Dementia Trust and Bradford Council’s adult services team.

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