Wakefield district care home where residents were suddenly told to leave will reopen

But the GMB union said residents and workers face an uncertain future after the abrupt temporary closure of Hazel Garth on Friday.

Little warning was given for the pre-bank holiday weekend shutdown as staff, residents or their families were left in shock.

The council said that the building will reopen, that the jobs of staff who work at Hazel Garth are safe, and that there will be no compulsory redundancies as part of the temporary closure.

The GMB said that in November a report detailed the urgent need for upgrade works, including new fire doors, and other maintenance reports.

Until work was carried out, Hazel Garth could not accept new residents to its 24-bed residential home, the union said.

Deanne Ferguson, GMB organiser said: "This is a disgraceful way to treat vulnerable residents - and dedicated staff.

"Putting residents' possessions into bin bags, and giving staff no warning, shows a stunning lack of respect.

"Residents and their families – alongside staff and their trade unions - will fight against the potential mothballing of this loved community residential home.

"Providing quality adult services must be an essential part of any local authority's mission.”

Yvette Cooper, Labour’s parliamentary candidate for Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford, said: “I’m extremely concerned about what has happened at Hazel Garth.

"This is a nightmare for residents and families, and I simply don’t understand why this has happened all of a sudden, and why alternative arrangements at Hazel Garth aren’t possible.

"I’ve been in contact with families and raised concerns with the council. This last-minute handling is really hard for residents and families and I am calling for an investigation into how this has happened as well as proper immediate support for residents, families and staff.”

The council said it made the decision to temporarily close the home to provide the best level of safe care for residents.

It said it was due to a combination of the care needs of residents, the physical condition of the building, and staff availability.

Since the decision, the council has been working with the families of six residents to find them new homes and alternative places have now been identified for all residents.

Jo Webster, corporate director adults, health and communities at the council, said “We’re sorry that we’ve had to make the difficult decision to move those we’ve been caring for at Hazel Garth to alternative accommodation.

“The safety and wellbeing of everyone in our care homes will always be our top priority.

"That has always been at the heart of every decision we’ve made. And at the moment we can provide a higher level of care in alternative settings.

“Hazel Garth Care Home is not permanently closing. We remain committed to care provision on the site.

"As we support the six residents in settling into their new homes, our focus will then be continuing to work closely with our staff and the trade unions to put arrangements in place that will help us provide the best level of care at Hazel Garth going forward.”