Homes for Older People

Henshaws Society for Blind People transferred ownership of its residential care homes, The Pendleton and Southport Centres, in August 2006 to not-for-profit care home provider Anchor Homes.

Anchor Homes is part of Anchor Trust, which has a 30-year track record of specialist residential care and more than 100 care homes across the country.

The North West charity dedicated to supporting blind and visually impaired people made the transfer to the residential care specialist to assure the future of staff and residents within an environment where care homes are a core focus.

The transfer will not affect residents or staff in any way, other than a change of the name of owner. Henshaws has only two residential care homes and its main aim has always remained support for those with visual impairment.

It had become increasingly difficult for Henshaws to attract visually impaired people to the Centres, particularly as so many local authorities now prefer to support people at home, so the change of ownership to a dedicated care provider represents a significant step forward for the Centres' communities.

The two organisations have agreed that, while Anchor runs the residential care, Henshaws will provide support for visually impaired residents. Henshaws continues to support older people through its resource centres in Liverpool and Old Trafford and is actively looking forward to developing and growing these in further regions.

More about the transfer

Henshaws chief executive Dianne Asher said: "We are confident that Anchor will provide the best care and service for residents. The most important thing for them is consistency and Anchor has pledged that nothing will change. Residents will be looked after by the same staff, their social networks will remain undisturbed and their routines the same.

"We had to look at what was best for our residents and staff and Anchor was far and away first choice. Our relationship with those visually impaired residents who are also service users will continue.

"I am confident that this is a step in the right direction for the people and, in the wider context, for a charity that has a first duty to support those with visual impairment."

Anchor's Director of Care Services Jane Ashcroft said: "We are delighted to be able to ensure that the two care homes can continue to provide high-quality care and support for older people. The agreement we have reached means that residents can be reassured they will receive the high quality service we insist on at all Anchor homes, while continuing to benefit from Henshaws' specialist knowledge."