Burman House care home in Terrington St John set to close as staff member shares concerns for residents
“They will not survive this.” Those were the words of a care home worker concerned about residents with dementia following the news that it will close.
Burman House care home in Terrington St John, run by Norse Care, has announced it will be shutting in early December due to the “evolving needs of residents”.
Staff were told on Wednesday that Burman House will be closing in just six weeks.
Members of staff have raised concerns for its residents, saying those who have dementia “will not survive” moving to another site.
One member of staff, who wished to not be named, told the Lynn News that they feel “very angry” about Norse’s decision to close the 30-bedroom house.
They said: “It is disgusting what they have done to these people. We have got very upset residents that don’t want to leave, but they don’t have a say.”
Staff working at the home have been given the choice of taking redundancy or moving to work at another care home owned by Norse.
“Staff have lost respect for Norse because of this situation,” the Burman House worker added.
“But this is not about the staff, this is about the residents.
“Their families are devastated. They will not survive this move. We are a dementia home.
“It is so upsetting, a lot of residents do not have a family, so we are their family.”
They added: “It is not right for residents, it’s not right for their mental or general health.”
Norse has said that the wellbeing of its residents remains its “top priority”.
The company said the main reason for its closure is due to the “growing complexity” of care required by its residents and that current room sizes are inadequate for delivering complex care.
Jo Huxtable, senior director of Norse Care, said: “We are saddened to close Burman House, but the wellbeing of our residents is our top priority.
“The building is no longer suitable for delivering the level of care required.
“We are working closely with residents and their families to ensure everyone finds a new home that meets their needs. We will work tirelessly to make sure all those at Burman House are relocated and settled within their new homes before Christmas.
“We understand how difficult this news is for our dedicated Burman House team. We are committed to supporting them during this transition and aim to redeploy as many staff as possible to other homes within our organisation.”
In 2018, it was proposed that Burman House should close when Norse launched an eight-week consultation saying it would be more “cost-effective”.
However, it remained open and has consistently been rated as “good” by the Care Quality Commission.
Norse has said it has begun discussions with residents and their families to understand their preferences in finding alternative care settings.