Plans to construct a new residential home to replace Ramsey’s Cummal Mooar will no longer be going ahead, as a review of the service requirements takes place.
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, 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, Manx Care has decided to not proceed with this development. 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 team uses a person-centred approach to help residents maintain their independence, and delivers a high quality of life for older people with support needs.
The 46-bed capacity home opened on 04 October 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 is no longer entirely fit for purpose.
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).
With this in mind, the DHSC in conjunction with Manx Care has decided to look again at this development to ensure it meets the needs of people in the North of the Island. Manx Care 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 we cannot currently confirm what this will look like as we need to listen to the views of local people.
The maximum amount of time available before Cummal Mooar will be decommissioned is two years, therefore it is likely that the facility will close before new Manx Care provision is available in the North of the Island. In this instance, we will work with residents and their families to ensure that they are moved to appropriate alternative accommodation (be that Manx Care or private).
The Social Care Leadership Team has made Cummal Mooar staff aware of the change to previous plans, and will continue to engage directly with them throughout this process. In response to a rumour that we are aware of, there will be no imminent redundancies as a result of this news, and we would like to reassure colleagues, residents of the home and their families and friends of this.
The team will also be engaging with residents and their families to ensure they are fully up-to-date with plans.
We understand that this will be concerning news to some members of the public, as well as to our colleagues. We would like to reassure you that whilst there will be changes, it is expected that they will benefit our Island residents in the years to come. We will provide updates as plans progress.
If you would like to raise any concerns or ask any questions, you can contact the Manx Care Advice and Liaison Service (MCALS) on 642642 or mcals@gov.im.
Answers to some frequently asked questions are available.
