The care facility in Enniskillen re-opened this week under the Western Trust and aims to provide a new care model for older people during the transition from hospital and home. 

The owners of Drumclay Care Home, Ebbay Group, announced the plans to shut the facility in September 2018, and the home officially closed in December 2018. 

At the time, alternative living arrangements were sought for the 34 people who were residents in the home. 

In a statement, a spokesman for the facility said ‘the sole reason for this closure is due to our ongoing inability to recruit the quality and quantity of skilled and experienced nursing staff.’ 

The Western Trust has took over Drumclay as part of the Pathfinder Project, and the new transitional care unit will initially provide 14 beds, which aims to be therapy enriched, encouraging service users to recreate a routine like their own at home.

 Lead Nurse at Drumclay, Dennis Ryan believes this new model can make a very real difference in the care of older people coming through the service. 

“This new model of care came about from listening to service users and our staff and we believe that getting back into the community as quickly as possibly is what matters to you and it is essential that we deliver that in a practical and safe manner. The focus will be on planning safe, as well as earlier discharge, from hospital and reducing the amount of care or support required on discharge and in the future. This will be achieved through a rehabilitative, nursing led service in a more homely setting that allows more holistic assessment and interventions through effective multi-disciplinary teamwork.”

Local carer, Noel Baxter has been involved in the development of this new transitional care pathway at Drumclay and said he is delighted to see Drumclay re-opened.

“Having been a carer for my daughter over the past 31 years, I applied for and was appointed as an Expert by Experience for the Pathfinder project. I have an interest in Drumclay Care Facility as my daughter stayed in the home in the past and we live locally. The changes which have been made by The Trust are tremendous.”