Troubled Black Country care home closes with loss of 21 jobs

The Homestead at Prestwood was placed into the hands of administrators Diana Frangou and Dilip Dattani of Baker Tilly after its managing company Elysian Care Ltd went into administration.

There were hopes the 38-bed home could be sold on and all 25 residents remain - but over the past three weeks families of the people in the home, some aged up to 96, began finding alternative accommodation.

This week, administrators confirmed the home had now closed, and that all 21 staff had been made redundant. A further 15 staff left ahead of the home closure.

Slyvia Ellis moved her 96-year-old mother Ethel Fazey from the home last month. Mrs Fazey had moved to the home two years ago, after leaving her house in Wollaston, Stourbridge.

Mrs Ellis, aged 67, said: "The closure has had a huge impact on the residents - they all loved it there and didn't want to move again, this was the place they wanted to stay at for the rest of their lives.

"My mother loved it. Before she moved there she would say 'I wish I was dead', but on being at the home she changed her outlook and was happy again.

"Now we've had to find her somewhere new to go. She shouldn't be going through this, at her age."

Mrs Ellis has contacted her Stourbridge Councillor Nicholas Barlow, calling for changes in the way care homes are run.

She said: "It shouldn't be like this. I believe care homes should, where possible, be kept under the council's control.

"This has left many people disappointed."

Councillor Barlow said: "The closure of the care home is very disappointing and has impacted not just the residents, but also the families who have to find new homes.

"I have had conversations with an officer at Dudley Council to find out where it went wrong and how we had worked to support people living there."

Staffordshire County Council stepped in to pay staff wages after concerns were raised about Elysian Care Ltd's financial viability at the start of last month.

The home had a mixture of residents registered independently, with the county council and Dudley Council.

Elysian Care Ltd also ran Knoll House in The Avenue, Penn.

On being appointed administrator, Diana Frangou, a restructuring and recovery director at Baker Tilly in Birmingham, said the priority was to ensure The Homestead continued to 'operate efficiently' while alternative accommodation was found for residents.

Frank Shepherd, spokesman for Baker Tilly, said: "All the residents have now moved to alternative accommodation and the home is now closed.

"As a result, all the employees who remained post appointment have now been made redundant.

"We continue to market the business for sale albeit on a closed basis."