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Ministers will do 'all they can' to save home from closure

Tue, 18 May 2021

Two government ministers have pledged to do ‘all they can’ to save a residential home in Peel from closing.

Around 150 people attended a public meeting last night on how to preserve the Corrin Memorial Home.

Directors at the site announced the facility is set to shut permanently at the end of July due to the company facing insolvency.

Insufficient funds to make urgent upgrades was one of the reasons given for the imminent closure.

A government subvention to keep the facility open was ruled out by Health and Social Care Minister David Ashford, who said it would lead to other privately-run homes asking for money.

Policy and Reform Minister Ray Harmer and Environment, Food and Agriculture Minister Geoffrey Boot – who both serve the Peel and Glenfaba constituency – say they will now pile pressure on Mr Ashford to provide financial assistance to keep the home running in the short-term.

Mr Boot says it’s important consideration is also given to ensure the Corrin Home remains open for the foreseeable future.

“In the short-term we’d like to keep the home open”, he said.

“But there obviously needs to be some long-term solutions in terms of overall management, cost control, and whether that building’s fit-for-purpose; whether it should be modernised or whether the Trust might donate it to the government so that a new facility can be built in the future.

“There were people here tonight that were obviously willing to put their hand in their pocket and fund raise, so we should look at all those options.”

Various options were discussed during Monday’s public meeting, such as securing a government loan or identifying a private backer.

Alan Jones, a director of the Corrin Home, said he was willing to work with staff and the government to find a workable solution.

He told the meeting it would cost in the region of £1.2million to keep operating the home for another year.

The issue is the subject of an emergency Tynwald motion on Tuesday as the campaign to save the home gains momentum.

Mr Harmer was pleased with what he called a ‘constructive’ debate on the problems surrounding the home, but criticised the board of directors and the trustees for hiding the extent of their financial troubles.

“There hasn’t been that [openness and transparency] over the last 14 months and that’s what’s made it difficult”, Mr Harmer said.

“We’re [MHKs for the region] going to do all we can to keep the home going.”

There was also a commitment to lobby the health and social care minister to stump up the funds needed to extend the running of the home for a few more months.

Mr Harmer continued: “As it was said in the meeting, we’re all getting older.

“There’s going to be more and more care needed and we need to have a proper facility.

“[The Corrin Home] is the only one in the west. We need this facility in the west.”

The board of directors have now reached out in a bid to save the home from closing on July 31.

“I’ve had some volunteers willing to come forward and work with us and I’m willing to work with anyone from government that comes up with a solution that we can operate in”, said Mr Jones.

“But I must make it clear that as directors of a private company we don’t have any choices but to cease trading by the 31 July, and that’s a legal requirement.”

When questioned on why the financial difficulties were not flagged up sooner, Mr Jones said they feared being closed down by government.

He added: “Since I’ve been on the board, about two-and-a-half-years, there have been problems right from the start, but a number of issues came to a head fairly quickly earlier on this year.

“With hindsight, perhaps on reflection we could’ve looked at doing things differently, but I think our big fear was if we’d done that we’d have been automatically closed by government.”

Twenty-one elderly residents will need to be re-located if the Corrin Home closes as expected at the end of July.

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