Changes at MHA - Spring 2024
MHA is making some changes this Spring, and we are sad to announce that we’re closing two of our care homes.
These homes are Swallow Wood in Mexborough, South Yorkshire and Willesden Court in north London.
The process to close the homes starts now. Residents living in these care homes, along with their relatives, will be given support to help them find a new home, and we will work with colleagues to find them alternative roles in MHA where possible.
MHA’s Executive Leadership Team (ELT) and our Board of Trustees have made this decision with a heavy heart. But these changes are necessary to sustain the future stability of MHA. As a charity, we need to make sure we are financially resilient. At times, that means we need to make difficult decisions if we want to be able to provide support and care in the future.
The care homes that are closing have enabled hundreds of people to live later life well over the years. But they have come at a cost to the charity. While the homes have good occupancy rates, they are running at a financial loss. This is because where they have local authority funded places, the councils meeting those costs pay far below what it costs MHA to deliver care for residents. This is not something that we can sustain.
There continues to be chronic underfunding in the social care sector, including inadequate funding from central government. The pandemic, energy bills, and the workforce crisis have also had an impact on MHA, like care providers everywhere. Alongside this, in many areas, resident occupancy has not recovered at the pace we had hoped. We have looked at the option of selling the homes as going concerns but, due to their financial situation, sadly this is not a viable option.
I want to thank the teams at the homes for their hard work and dedication in creating vibrant homes for residents living there. The closure of the homes is not a reflection on their hard work and dedication, but more on the overall situation facing MHA and the sector.
We know there are challenging times ahead of us and we cannot pretend there won’t be other difficult decisions we will need to make in the future. Like all organisations, MHA needs to continually review our offer to make sure we can meet older people's needs as effectively as possible into the long term.
If you want to know more about what we are doing, we have drawn up a set of frequently asked questions.