Bishop's Waltham woman starts petition to save care home

Amber Hudson, 41, started the petition after she heard of plans to close Bishop’s Waltham House, a 36-bed residential home on Free Street.

As previously reported, the county council has proposed to shut seven care homes across the county, with hopes to open three new care facilities.

Their opposition now has the support of the parish council which has also criticised the proposal.

READ MORE: SCAS recommits to armed forces community by re-signing covenant

A petition has been launched to save the carehome (Image: Google Maps)

Amber, whose 101-year-old grandma Bessie Channon is a resident of Bishop’s Waltham Place, said that the proposal “Came as a huge surprise to us”.

She said: “(Hampshire County Council) say they want to close it because it’s run down and its not got – one of the things that came up in the meeting we went to on Thursday night is – it’s not got room to pt hoists in the bedroom. And I said to them ‘How many residents have you got’ and there’s 36 of them, and I asked ‘How many of them need hoists’, and they said none of them. So I don’t understand their argument.

“Okay, it is an older building, but it’s beautifully decorated and there’s not a spot of uncleanliness in there; it’s cleaned every day.”

The childminder continued: “I’m not just fighting this for our grandma. Bishop’s Waltham needs a care home.

“They say they’re building one in the New Forest and Waterlooville, but what good is that to anyone in Bishop’s Waltham? There are still a lot of people in Bishop’s Waltham that don’t drive, public transport is being cut back every single week.

“And the staff who work there have all become friends to us, they put themselves out so much. They all know Grandma’s little quirks, they all know what she likes, what she doesn’t like. And a lot of them walk to work, so they’re not going to be able to go off to these other sites they are thinking of building.”

SEE ALSO: Part of new M3 barrier demolished so 'improvements' can be made

At time of writing, Amber’s petition has reached 691 signatures against a target of 1,000.

She said: “We need to do something, we can’t just sit back and do nothing. I knew the response would be good, but I didn’t realise how good it would be. So much support has come from the village, and even from people who don’t have residents there”.

The petition can be viewed by visiting: change.org/p/save-our-local-care-home-preserving-dignity-and-community-support.

The parish council Chairman, Cllr Judy Marsh, said in a statement: "The Parish Council were shocked to hear the proposal to close Bishop’s Waltham House, a much valued and beloved residential care home in the town.

"The Parish Council support its residents in its concerns for the loss of this ‘care in the community’ facility. The elderly in town wish to remain in their home area and not be moved out of the locality – how are their partners and families able to visit them is a concern, especially with poor public transport links in and out of the town to the given alternative care homes in other towns.

"There is also the loss of employment to be considered – many local people have jobs in the care home and this skill and dedication would be lost, as well as the flexible employment the home offers to local residents. With the population growth in the town, and the increase in those aged 85+ particularly, this facility clearly needs to be retained. The Parish Council support the community in Bishop’s Waltham who are keen to protect this valued facility and are gathering views in advance of the public consultation."