AFTER an extended battle to keep the doors open, a care home has closed its doors and all residents have been rehoused elsewhere.

Despite spirited campaigns from MP Tim Farron and the community-at-large, Leonard Cheshire, the care provider in charge of Holehird care home since 1961, has officially shut the home down.

This comes after stories of anxiety and desperation of those who had family members in the home, at Windermere.

They described being treated as 'piggy-in-the-middle' and being 'shocked and devastated' by the news when it was first announced.

Mr Farron said: "I think Leonard Cheshire have behaved disgracefully throughout. 

"I am heartbroken for the families involved and the staff. We did everything we could, thousands of local people signed a petition and there was a viable provider willing to take over the care."

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He thinks that Leonard Cheshire, a charity set up in the name of a war veteran who dedicated his life to humanitarian work, could have done more to save the home.

Holehird housed residents with a variety of needs, including people suffering from degenerative conditions such as multiple sclerosis and who have suffered brain injuries.

Among the reasons cited by the charity, which leases the building from the Lakeland Trust, for the closure are issues with funding and income and the ergonomics of the bedrooms not allowing ‘sufficient space for staff to deliver personal care safely’.

A deal was being negotiated between Leonard Cheshire and St Gregory's, a care provider based in Carnforth.

Mr Farron said problems arose when Leonard Cheshire issued redundancy notices to staff in the home while talks between the organisations were still ongoing, making it impossible for St Gregory's to take over the home.

He said: "I think sometimes charities forget why they were set up in the first place.

"I asked them to delay the decision, they refused.  They dragged their feet, before going and issuing redundancy notices anyway, completely undermining the stage we were at.

"They moved the residents out without giving the families hope that there was an alternative, which there was.

"At every stage Leonard Cheshire have acted as 'if we can't do it, then no-one can'.

"The decision itself was bad but to conduct themselves in this way is utterly reprehensible and undermines all the things Leonard Cheshire was about when he set up the charity."

Leonard Cheshire deny the MPs version of events.

A spokesman for Leonard Cheshire said: "We continued to engage with SGH [St Gregory's Healthcare] to support their potential interest in Holehird. Having extended our consultation with staff, Mr Farron wrote to us at the time, expressing his concern about the negative impact that changing redundancy deadlines were having on people’s lives.

"It would have been grossly unfair to keep stopping and starting a redundancy process. This would have caused further uncertainty and anxiety for staff about their futures, as well as people living at Holehird. We understand no submission for a lease was ultimately made."

Leonard Cheshire are in the process of returning the home to trustees of the Lakeland Trust.

When it returns to their care, they will consider the next step in the life of the home, which was donated by Henry Leigh Groves to the county council, to be held in trust 'for the purpose of the better development of the health, education and welfare services of the county of Westmorland'.