ByJonathan Kalmus, Jonathan Kalmus
Liverpool's Jewish care home is appealing for £100,000 to fund a desperately needed refurbishment to its Victorian premises. And leaders of the Stapely home are confident of having secured the long-term provision of care for the community.
Stapely management has been told by the Care Quality Commission to start essential work on leaking roofs and water damage. Repairs had been put off and rooms closed in anticipation of a failed relocation deal, which would have seen a £4 million care home built at the back of the nearby Childwall Synagogue. The plans fell through in 2009 after the developer failed to complete its purchase of Stapely's existing site.
Now the care home watchdog - which previously awarded Stapely its second-highest rating - has warned that repairs to the 66-bed home cannot be delayed further. Around £10,000 is needed for immediate re-roofing and the home's management says new carpets, furniture and updated nursing beds are also required.
Meanwhile, a new agreement has been reached for a state-of-the-art care facility to be built by the company involved in the intended 2009 deal.
Ashbury Care Solutions has gained planning permission for a 95-bed care home and 23 sheltered apartments close to the Stapely site which will have a dedicated Jewish wing, including a kosher kitchen. In return, Stapely is not pursuing Ashbury for the original £3.5 million sale price of its premises until the housing market improves. The development is expected to be completed in 2013.
Defending the deal, Alan Tinger, who heads Stapely's executive, claimed it was "a ready made solution. A further benefit for the community will be that as demand reduces in the many years ahead, non-required capacity will not have to be funded."
Mr Tinger added that a consultation document sent to Jewish community members last summer received hundreds of responses supporting a move for Stapely to join an existing care home. But he warned that despite the long-term plans, the community needed to "rally round" the £100,000 appeal.
"The money is really to tide us over and to respect the residents and give them something better. As we approach Rosh Hashanah, it's a time to think about the needs of others."