A PRIVATE care home in North Yorkshire is to close, saying it had experienced difficulties recruiting and retaining staff locally.

Four Seasons Health Care, which runs Clova House Care Home, in Ripon, has announced it will cease operating the home, which is expected to close within weeks.

The company says it is beginning a consultation with the home’s care team over the closure and working closely with North Yorkshire County Council’s social services department to support families in finding alternative arrangements for their relatives.

The home on Clotherholme Road currently has 21 residents and offers 24-hour residential care to permanent residents, as well as respite and intermediate care.

Four Seasons Health Care said the home had not been “financially sustainable” for some time now.

The closure was prompted by difficulty recruiting and keeping qualified staff, which led to a reliance on temporary agency staff. Four Seasons Health Care said this, in turn, made it difficult to maintain the standards needed for residents.

The last Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection report on the home, published in September 2017, rated the home as “requiring improvement” and noted concerns about staffing and some treatment of residents.

Marjorie Condacos, regional managing director of Four Seasons Health Care, said: “The proposal to cease operating the home has not been arrived at easily and it is based on a combination of factors.

“We have had local difficulties in recruiting and retaining staff with the right level of skills.

“This has necessitated a high use of temporary agency staff and it has resulted in challenges to maintain the standards that we expect all of our homes to provide and we are not prepared to see Clova House continue to struggle.

“The home has not been financially sustainable for some time.

"It now requires significant expenditure to bring it to the standards that we require for a modern care home and this cannot be justified as the local market conditions to not offer a realistic prospect of improving its viability.

“The wellbeing of residents is our priority and we will work closely with North Yorkshire County Council’s Social Services team to ensure that families are supported to make appropriate care arrangements.

“Clova House will continue to provide care while we allow plenty of time for this.”