CONCERNS were raised today about the fate of residents and staff at an Ipswich care home which is due to close.

Bosses at the Bupa-run Howard Court care home, in Burlington Road, say the building is no longer fit for purpose and can’t provide the level of care necessary for residents.

The organisation has said it will strive to find homes for the home’s residents, but relatives are worried about the impact the move will have on their loved ones.

One relative said: “This will leave all the residents traumatised because, for some of them, this is their home.

“Howard Court has been my mum’s home for many years and the new matron has really tried hard to get it back to how it used to be and her caring ways towards her staff as well as her patients’ are top class.”

Officials at Bupa have pledged to make sure all the residents at Howard Court find new homes before the facility closes and the task is under way to help staff in need of jobs.

Regional director, Rhona McLeod, said the decision to close Howard Court was made ‘reluctantly’.

She added: “Our residents’ wellbeing is our top priority and we could not be certain that Howard Court would continue to provide the standard of environment needed for a modern care home looking after frail, older people.

“It will not be closed until we have helped every resident to find an alternative home that they can be happy in.

“We value the good team at Howard Court and we are speaking to all of them to try to find alternative positions for them within Bupa.

“We have other nursing homes nearby that may offer alternative opportunities that suit their circumstances.”

Howard Court currently cares for about 20 elderly people and employs about 40 staff.

? Are you worried about what will happen to your loved ones? Write to Your Letters, Ipswich Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN, or e-mail starletters@archant.co.uk