Community
Hooper Rows Back on Manx Care’s Plans
Minister Lawrie Hooper has moved to reassure residents and their families
The DHSC has said a Ramsey care home should remain open until a replacement facility is ready.
This has directly contradicted Manx Care, which said it expects Cummal Mooar to close before a new facility is ready.
On Thursday, Manx Care issued a statement announcing that plans to replace Cummal Mooar with a new care home at Cooil Ny Marrey on Waterloo Road would not go ahead as planned.
The health and care provider had said that the most recent estimate for the construction had risen to in excess of £13m, ‘almost doubling the initial estimate’. However, in January 2022, Manx Care itself gave a price tag of £12.75m.
In amongst that announcement, Manx Care had said: ‘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).’
Today however, the DHSC issued a statement saying a replacement facility of some kind will be built and that it the gov’s intention that Cummal Mooar ‘should remain open whilst this work is underway’.
Minister Lawrie Hooper, who is also the Ramsey MHK, said: ‘I understand the announcement by Manx Care about the future of Cummal Mooar has caused concern for residents, their families and communities in the north of the island.
‘The long-term plan for Cummal Mooar, which is over forty years old, is to construct a replacement facility which will provide modern standards of social care for residents. The estimated cost for a new facility has grown considerably and as the Treasury has yet to approve funding, the original timescale has been pushed back.
‘I want to reassure residents that it remains the Department of Health and Social Care’s intention to build a replacement for Cummal Mooar and it is the department’s position that the facility should remain open while the department, Manx Care and the Treasury work together to determine a plan for the future.’
