Minister welcomes successful transfer of final Southern Cross homes

The final care homes, formerly run by Southern Cross, have now been transferred to new operators. Care Services Minister Paul Burstow today thanked all parties involved for their diligence and hard work in ensuring the transfer caused minimum disruption to residents.

The quality and continuity of care of all care home residents has always been of paramount importance. As result of this hard work, no one lost their care home place – everyone was looked after.

The final transfers mean that all of Southern Cross’s homes in England have now moved to new operators. In all cases, the transfer was scrutinised and approved by the Care Quality Commission. Southern Cross no longer provides care services in England.

Paul Burstow said:

“I would like to thank all of the organisations which have worked together with the Government to ensure that the transfer of care homes has been carried out with the minimal impact on residents and staff. This has involved complex and difficult negotiations, but throughout, we have made clear that continuity of care for residents was paramount.

“Without this huge co-operative effort, the situation could have been very different for the 31,000 residents and 40,000 staff. No one has lost their place and everyone has continued to be looked after.

“Few thought this would be possible and many voiced fears about what the process would mean for residents. I promised that no-one would become homeless as a result of Southern Cross’s troubles and I am very pleased that a successful conclusion has been achieved.”

In the light of Southern Cross’s breakup, the Government is now examining whether there are sufficient safeguards in place to oversee the market and protect those reliant on vital services. The Government issued a discussion paper on oversight of the social care market in October. The views expressed and discussions with other interested parties will inform the policy in the White Paper on the reform of adult social care in the spring of next year.

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