Plans for replacement residential home scrapped

Plans to construct a new residential home to replace Ramsey’s Cummal Mooar will no longer be going ahead.

The building of the new facility was approved by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) in 2018, to be constructed on land at the Cooil Ny Marrey site on Waterloo Road in Ramsey. 

This was due to replace the existing care home, which opened in 1981, to ensure full compliance with modern standards for care homes.

However, Manx Care says for a number of reasons including a 'significant increase in construction costs', 'the reduced demand for residential care' and the 'need to review the long-term needs of services in the North of the Island', it's decided to not proceed with this development. 

The health body says the most recent estimate for the construction had risen to in excess of £13m, almost doubling the initial estimate.

Cummal Mooar is one of three resource centres on the Island run by Manx Care that provides residential care for older people.

The 46-bed capacity home opened in 1981, and has acted as a source of care and support for older people living in the North of the Island and their families ever since.

However, due to its age and design, the facility was deemed no longer entirely fit for purpose.

Manx Care says "Analysis of the future direction of residential care has shown that facilities such as Cummal Mooar will not be so widely required going forward, as Social Care colleagues work to ensure that individuals are not prematurely accommodated in long-term care. Instead, the aim will be to support people at home as far as possible, through a “Home First” approach, which allows people to stay safe and as independent as possible at home.

Therefore, replacing the facility with its modern equivalent would not be the most effective use of funding at this time. Those requiring long-term care will be more likely to require more specialist care (for example for those living with dementia or requiring long-term nursing care)."

However, the DHSC says in conjunction with Manx Care, it's decided to look again at this development to ensure it meets the needs of people in the North of the Island. 

Manx Care says it will be engaging with colleagues, residents and their families, and members of the public to plan for the future – there will be a facility in the North in the coming years, but they haven't currently confirm what this will look like as the board says they 'need to listen to the views of local people.'