A Northern Ireland care home operator has acquired the troubled Parkdean site in north Belfast as part of a £7m investment.
Conway Group Healthcare said its purchase of the Fortwilliam Park nursing home was a “transformative” step, and that it would carry out a complete refurbishment and redesign.
Watchdog the Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA) said earlier this year that Parkdean had failed to meet standards in wound care and end of life care since 2021.
It said it would be cancelling the home’s registration, though former owner Amstecos Limited had said it would appeal.
Now Conway Group Healthcare, which already has eight homes around Northern Ireland, has said its work will create “a modern, compliant, and welcoming environment for residents and staff”.
Victoria Humphries, regional operations manager at Conway Group Healthcare, said: “We are delighted to add this sizeable home in a prime location to our healthcare portfolio and are committed to working with all key stakeholders to ensure the delivery of safe, effective, and high-quality person-centred care to all residents.
“This significant investment underscores our dedication to providing welcoming and supportive environments.”
The group said it has a reputation for “person-centred care” for people with conditions such as dementia as well as those with physical disabilities, mental health needs, learning disabilities, and complex needs.
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It said its redevelopment work would bring it up to the same standard of the rest of the group, with a redesign which would “exceed regulatory requirements”. The site has room for 64 residents.
Conway Healthcare said that “the group aims to rebuild trust within the local community, ensuring that the home becomes a positive asset there”.
It’s part of Conway Group, which also has interests in property development, investment, asset management and construction.
The RQIA report in April said it had monitored the quality of care in Parkdean through three inspections during 2023.
“RQIA conducted an unannounced care inspection on August 1, 2023 following concerns raised by the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust regarding poor patient outcomes in relation to wound care and end of life care,” it said.
“The inspection evidenced that Amstecos Ltd had failed to address the repeated areas for improvement.”
It said patient records continued to show a lack of consistency in recording management of wounds.