No current plans to expand nursing home provision in the west of Isle of Man

There are currently no plans to expand nursing home capacity in the west of the Isle of Man.

In a Tynwald question, Glenfaba and Peel MHK Katryna Baptist asked what progress there has been in negotiations with the trustees of the former Corrin Home in Peel and whether there was a budgeted strategy for elderly care provision in the west.

The closure of the Corrin Memorial Home was first announced in April 2021, prompting a campaign to save the facility and an emergency debate in Tynwald. Trustees said there was no way to make it viable and ultimately the home closed in the July of that year.

In her reply, Health and Social Care Minister Claire Christian said that following the closure of the home, the DHSC had entered into discussions with the trustees regarding its potential acquisition for future health and care provision in Peel and the wider west.

She said: ‘The department considered its potential not simply as a replacement residential home, but as part of a wider model of integrated primary, community, health and care provision serving the west of the island. Work was undertaken to explore whether an acquisition could be justified.

‘This included government and independent valuations of the site, consideration of its potential future uses and assessment of the conditions which the trustees wished to attach to any disposal.

‘Ultimately, there remained material differences between the parties regarding valuation, the assumptions underpinning those valuations and the conditions associated with a potential sale.’

She added: ‘In relation to future elderly care provision in the west, there is currently no approved proposal or specific capital programme for additional residential or nursing home capacity and no budget has been allocated for such a development.

‘The future needs of Peel and the west will form an important part of a longer-term strategy that the department will be developing.’