OAPs given eight weeks to leave Wimbledon care home

Craegmoor Healthcare - owner of more than 250 homes nationwide - has told 24 vulnerable residents and their relatives they have just eight weeks to move out of Lancaster Lodge, in Lancaster Avenue.

In a letter to residents, the organisation’s managing director said it was no longer viable to run the home specialising in dementia care.

The Care Quality Commission also required Lancaster Lodge to undertake refurbishment, which the company said was not feasible due to the age of the building.

Craegmoor said the home was closing due to a shortage of demand for places, not because it needed refurbishment. Some 24 of the home’s 36 beds are currently taken.

Sarah McQuitty, whose 86-year-old mother lives in Lancaster Lodge, said: “Being forced to move could kill some of these residents. For my mother, this is it, this was meant to be her last home and I’d say at least half of everyone staying at Lancaster Lodge are in their 80s or 90s.

She said: “I wasn’t invited to the meeting where the announcement was made and at no point have we been told exactly why this is happening. It’s all just so shocking, I spoke to staff and they can’t believe what’s going on.”

A spokesman for Age Concern said the closure of a care home could have a “devastating impact” on the older people living there.

Craegmoor has begun a consultation with 29 members of staff, whose jobs are at risk, pledging to help find them new positions within the company.

Merton Council social workers are arranging assessments for residents whose places are funded by the authority.

A spokesperson for Craegmoor said: “We did not take this decision lightly as our top priority is always the people we support, their families and our dedicated staff.

“We would like to reassure everyone we will be working closely with residents, their families and all agencies to help find alternative homes with as little disruption as possible.”