Closure of our Charity Community Respite Care Bed – Message from the Chair of the Trustees

We are devastated to announce that we must close our free of charge respite care bed service at the end of March 2023. The cost-of-living crisis means that, like many charities, we have experienced a severe reduction in the amount of funding and donations that previously supported this facility. This has been exacerbated by the rise in the cost of actual care, Covid precautions and a sharp increase in recruitment costs. The respite care bed costs £57,000 per year alone and raising that income is unfortunately unattainable in the current economic climate.

We are hoping that this is a temporary closure and depending on future support, we are committed to opening our respite care facility at a future date.

At the moment, we will continue to concentrate on our core mission – of helping the elderly and frail with residential and nursing care.

As a not-for-profit care home, any surplus income is reinvested for the benefit of our residents. So, instead of a free respite care room, we will continue to concentrate on helping residents stay in Charlotte Straker House by funding local authority fee shortfalls. Many of our residents have lived and worked in the area all their lives and want to live near their family but are unable to afford care home fees without charitable support.

We have been embedded into the Corbridge community since 1916 and supporting older people is at the heart of everything we do. Our charity provides the very best in residential and nursing care to the elderly. Respite care will also be available but will no longer be free of charge and the cost will be £890 per week. We hope that everyone understands the difficult decision that we’ve had to make and will continue to support us in our vital work.

Thank you

Berenice Groves

Chair of the Trustees