Charity running care home set to close near Leighton Buzzard issues apology and pledges to learn lessons

The charity running a care home which is being closed at the end of the month due to safety failings has vowed to learn from the experience to ensure it can't happen again at other services it runs.

As we previously reported here, more than 60 extremely vulnerable people will have to be rehoused after the Freemantle Trust announced Carey Lodge in Wing would be shut down.

The home cares for those with dementia and end of life care. The premises was subject to a snap Care Quality Commission visit over safety concerns raised by staff. It had previously been the subject of a damning CQC report last year following an unannounced visit in October 2020.

Buckinghamshire Council initiated a safeguarding inquiry last week and now has a dedicated team of its social care staff based in Carey Lodge.

Helen Eyers, Care Quality Director at The Fremantle Trust, which has care sites in Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire and Hertfordshire, said: “A recent Care Quality Commission inspection of our Carey Lodge residential home raised concerns about the service. And it’s with great sadness that The Fremantle Trust has made the difficult decision to close the home.

"As a result of the concerns raised, Buckinghamshire Council has decided to support the local authority funded residents to move to alternative accommodation. As a not-for-profit organisation, closing the home is sadly our best course of action.

"We understand how unsettling this is for residents and their families, all of whom we’ve talked to about what’s happening. The residents’ welfare is our highest priority and we’re working with them, their families and Buckinghamshire Council to ensure they can move to the most suitable alternative homes as smoothly as possible.

"We apologise to everyone affected, are determined to learn from these events and have taken decisive action to ensure this couldn’t happen again at any of our other services.

"We set high standards for all our care services and take full responsibility for the fact that, in the case of Carey Lodge, we were not able to meet them.”

Do you have relatives at the home? What do you think of the situation? Email [email protected]