Whittlesey care home The Gables among three to permanently close after Cambridgshire council’s admissions embargo

A care home in Whittlesey is one of three shutting down after Cambridgeshire County Council (CCC) suspended all admissions to the facilities.

Operator HC-One has announced that The Gables in Whittlesey, The Cambridge in Chesterton and The Red House in Ramsey will all permanently close as they are “no longer operationally and financially viable”.

CCC, alongside NHS Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, stopped referring patients to the homes in July 2022 over “quality concerns”.

Since then, two more HC-One homes in the region – The Elms in Whittlesey and Manor House in Upwood – have also shut down.

It was at an inquest into the deaths of three former residents of The Elms earlier this year that CCC informed HC-One that its embargo on admissions would not be lifted until 2024 at the earliest.

HC-One, Britain’s largest care home provider, has now said that, despite “significant time and effort” put into improving its remaining homes in Cambridgeshire, it has been unable to reach an agreement with the county council to end the embargo sooner.

As such, it has made the “disappointing decision” to begin the closure process, it added.

In a statement issued jointly with CCC and NHS Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, HC-One said that the homes will “not close until all residents have moved to their new care placements”.

The statement also said that the authorities “recognise the impact this will have on residents, families and staff at these homes”.

A total of 74 residents live at the three homes, supported by some 195 members of staff.

Regulators currently rate The Gables 'Good' in all areas

The Gables Care Home was rated ‘Good’ by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in April this year with regulators reporting that it’s an “organised and well run service” with an “open and transparent culture”.

It was, though, rated ‘Requires Improvement’ at its inspection before that, published in October 2021, while both The Cambridge and The Red House currently hold this rating after inspections this year.

The Elms, meanwhile, was rated ‘Inadequate’ before it was shut down last year, prompting concerns about HC-One homes at CCC.

HC-One apologised after recognising 'shortcomings' at The Elms

At the inquest into the deaths of its former residents Margaret Canham, David Poole and George Lowlett in March, coroner Caroline Jones noted inaccuracies in record-keeping, delays in spotting early warning signs of oncoming illness and failure to always administer prescribed medication at the home.

HC-One issued an apology to the families in the wake of the inquest, saying that it was “clear that The Elms should have provided far better care” and that it “sincerely apologises to the three families involved for our shortcomings”.

However, all three died of natural causes, Ms Jones found, and their care at The Elms – while problematic – was not ruled to be a causative factor in their deaths.

HC-One, which bills itself as the ‘Kind Care Company’ operates more than 250 care homes in Britain.

It cares for around 8,000 residents and employs nearly 20,000 members of staff.