Following Liverpool care home closures, Exemplar Health Care steps in

Seven Liverpool care home workers whose homes closed down late last year have now started work at Brook View, Exemplar Health Care’s newest complex care home in Liverpool.

In November, the Amberleigh House and Edinburgh Park homes closed their doors – with residents re-homed and staff made redundant.

‘Very, very upsetting’

“I was absolutely devastated,” said Barbara Griffiths, who’d worked as a housekeeper at Amberleigh House for 16 years. “Not so much for us as staff, but for the residents and their relatives.”

“To find out we were going to be out of work as well was very, very upsetting,” she added.

Thankfully for Barbara, Brook View, Exemplar’s 32 bed-home for adults with complex physical and mental health needs, had recently opened – and was hiring.

After a month’s paid redundancy in December, Barbara started at Brook View in Fazakerley, near Aintree University Hospital, just a nine-minute’s walk from her previous employer, this week in January.

“I was delighted,” she said, recalling the moment she was offered the role as a housekeeper with Brook View. “It certainly made my Christmas.”

‘More engaging’

It’s also the first week on-the-job for Karl Woolfall, a support worker who’d previously worked at Amberleigh House.

“I’ve got a good team,” Karl said. “I’m just getting used to everything.”

As his past experience was with elderly people living with dementia, Karl’s enjoying the challenge of supporting younger adults.

“It’s more engaging supporting younger folk,” Karl said.

In total, Brook View has hired from both closed-down homes seven care colleagues, in nursing, support worker and house keeper roles.

‘Free of worries’

Brook View’s Commissioning Home Director, Paul Bradford, said he was “very pleased to have care colleagues from nearby homes come to further their careers at Brook View.”

“We’re also really glad that our new team members got to celebrate Christmas and New Year free of worries about their next step,” Paul added.

“At Exemplar Health Care, people are at the heart of everything we do – and we’re proud to offer every one of our care colleagues stable, secure jobs delivering top-quality care to adults with complex physical and mental health needs.”

Grand opening

Exemplar Health Care’s Brook View was officially opened by the Lord Mayor of Liverpool, Anna Rothery in September last year.

The specialist nursing care home supports adults with complex nursing needs including neuro-disability, brain injury and stroke, mental health conditions and complex dementia.

Exemplar Health Care runs 32 complex needs care homes – and counting –  across England and has 2,900 employees. Over half of our over 700 service users are aged 46 to 65.

Photo caption: New starters from the closed-down homes pose for a photo during their Exemplar Health Care induction process. From L-R: Karl Woolfall, support worker, Collette Gough, registered nurse, Sarah Kearney, support worker, and Barbara Griffiths, house keeper