McLaughlin welcomes £1.6m investment in care homes

An extra £1.6m announced for care homes should be used to remove the uncertainty over closures of care homes across the North, Foyle Sinn Fein MLA Maeve McLaughlin has said..

Two residential homes in Derry – William Street and Rectory Field on Limavady – are among those earmarked for closure.

Ms McLaughlin, chairperson of the Stormont Health Committee, said: “I welcome the announcement by the Health Minister Simon Hamilton that £1.6m is to be used to bring some stability to the sector.

“Over the past few years confidence in the sector has reached rock bottom as homes have faced the threat of closure with residents not knowing from one day to the next what was happening.”

Ms McLaughlin said it was “important” the money be “invested wisely” so as to create confidence and stability within the industry.

She concluded: “However, we need to look at further investment in our care services especially domiciliary care if we are to keep people out of hospitals and care for our ageing population.”

Photo shows Ms McLaughlin (extreme right) protesting at the proposed closure of William Street residential care home.