Two of the seven care homes earmarked for closure by the Four Seasons group as part of a drive to stem its financial losses look to have been saved after buyers in Northern Ireland stepped forward.
Four Seasons said it was in advanced discussions with Spa Nursing Home Group for the acquisition of Oakridge care home, Ballynahinch, while Hutchinson Care Homes is interested in buying Antrim care home.
The company said Hutchinson and Spa intended to take on the homes as going concerns and would retain current staff if the sale goes through.
Staff were told at 11.30am on Friday, just 10 days after Four Seasons announced the lossmaking homes were to close.
Relatives say they are thrilled with the stay of execution but are angry with the way Four Seasons, which is controlled by Guy Hands’ private equity firm Terra Firma, has handled the situation.
They say the announcement last week that seven homes were to be closed by the end of February caused an unnecessary burden and stress on vulnerable patients.
“The fact that two independent buyers have stepped forward shows these homes were viable. Four Seasons last week said they weren’t,” said one relative. “They have tried to make out that this is about a funding crisis in the care sector as a whole, but this shows they weren’t even trying to sell them as going concerns.”
Chris Lyttle, the Northern Ireland assembly member for Belfast East, said the episode raises questions about whether care of the elderly should be left to the free market.
Iris Walker,70, told the Guardian she was worried the stress of a move from Oakridge could kill her seriously ill husband Jimmy, 77, a former sports editor at the Belfast Telegraph.
Jenny Grainger, whose father is in Oakridge, spearheaded a campaign to save the care home. She said in a statement on Facebook: “I am really thrilled to announce that it seems that Oakridge and Antrim care homes have been saved!
“Local buyers have stepped forward and plan to take them over as going concerns, which means that my dad and the other vulnerable residents can stay in their homes and, hopefully, the wonderful staff will be kept on to care for them.”
A spokesman for Four Seasons said: “We had come to the decision to close the homes with great reluctance and so we welcome the possibility that they will continue to provide care. We will do everything we can to help facilitate a smooth transfer of these homes to new ownership with no disruption to the care of residents and continuity of employment.”
