DEMENTIA CARE patients have been shipped out of Brookvale Care Home and forced to find somewhere else to live as demolition work starts.
The Olton care home – which homes 68 residents living with Dementia – was forced to close its doors after it failed to meet modern care home standards.
The recent Care Quality Commission inspection report highlighted a number of issues with the building’s layout and design – including crowded communal areas, narrow corridors and lack of en-suite facilities.
The 44-year-old building required more than £2million worth of improvements over the next ten years to bring the building up to scratch – a figure Solihull Council considered poor value for money.
Solihull Council – who spearheaded the closure earlier this year – plan to use the sale of the Brookvale site to build a new care home suited to the needs of Dementia patients elsewhere in the borough.
Despite growing concerns, Coun Karen Grinsell said all residents were given the help and support needed to find alternative care homes.
She added: “We want people to have the best quality of life and maintain maximum dignity and respect.
“The constraints of the old building made achieving this extremely difficult.
“We will be able to make a significant investment in a brand new home which responds to the hopes, aspirations and care needs of our service users who are growing in number.”
The demolition work has started and is expected to take around 15 weeks to complete.
The new care – which is still in the very early planning stages – is ‘expected’ to open its doors in 2019.
