92 Barcicroft Road a care home for young people with complex needs officially opens

Groundbreaking

A groundbreaking pilot project has been launched at 92 Barcicroft Road, Heaton Moor providing a new care home for six young people with life-limiting conditions and complex needs .

Operated by Francis House Families Ltd – a trading subsidiary of Francis House Family Trust the registered charity behind Francis House Children’s Hospice – the care home will enable the young people to live in a domestic setting whilst being cared for around the clock by a team of highly trained staff.

Sir Warren Smith KCVO KStJ JP officially opened the care home at 92 Barcicroft Road and Bishop John Arnold the Bishop of Salford blessed the project. Families and representatives of Francis House Children’s Hospice were among those attending the opening ceremony.

Dermot Murphy, Registered Manager of the care home said: “This home is dedicated to providing these six young people with an enriching and fulfilling life. The aim of 92 Barcicroft Road is to provide a comfortable and supportive living environment where young people with life limiting conditions can thrive and experience the joys of everyday life.

“Our team will work closely with each young person and their family to understand their individual needs and provide tailored support to help them live as full a life as possible.

Building on success

In June 2021, councillors gave the go ahead to the conversion of the two semi-detached properties into a six bedroom care home, describing it as an ‘excellent’ scheme.

The project was designed and managed by Keith Eastwood of Lancaster Maloney Ltd. Local contractors Chapel Green Contracts, Optimum Electrical and W&G Services then began converting the two properties into one and installing six bedrooms, a communal dining room and lounge, bed lift, large shower room and bathroom and a multi-sensory room.

The facility will build on the success of 463 Parrswood Road, an existing care home in Didsbury which has had a transformative effect on the lives of seven young people with life-limiting conditions since it became fully occupied in 2018.

92 Barcicroft Road has close links with Francis House Children’s Hospice, and all of the young people who come to live there will continue to receive respite care and symptom control at the Hospice.

The home is staffed by a team of highly trained and compassionate individuals who are dedicated to providing the highest quality of care to each and every resident.

Quality of life

David Ireland, chief executive of Francis House Children’s Hospice and Company Secretary of Francis House Families Ltd said: “No 92 is all about giving these young people a good quality of life and the opportunity for new experiences. It will be family orientated with the parents remaining very much involved and the young people will be able to go home at the weekends should they choose to.

“The weight of responsibility of caring for a young person with complex needs falls heavily on the shoulders of their parents. They are exhausted from many years of care as there is little or no alternative support for them.

“With the opening of this new property we can support six more young people with limited capacity. What we are doing is groundbreaking and as far as I’m aware nowhere else has a facility like this.”

The day to day costs of funding the care of the young people will come from their individual care packages and involves no charitable fundraising.

The care home will be staffed around the clock by a team of Registered Nurses, play specialists, care team members and learning disability nurses some of whom have moved from experienced roles at 463 or the Hospice.

A welcome opportunity

Dawn Tulloch’s son Paul, 20, will be one of the six young people moving into the property. Paul has severe cerebral palsy, seizures and complex needs and has been attending Francis House Children’s Hospice for respite care for more than 15 years.

Dawn said: “It will make a massive difference Paul coming here as there is nothing else out there for him. It will also give myself and my other son Dylan a quality of life together.

“It’s hard work looking after a young person with complex needs and I have no respite other than what I get through Francis House. Coming here will make the time Paul and I have together even more treasured and special.

“I’ve always said that I wanted to look after Paul until I physically couldn’t, but with transitioning into adult services and the lack of support out there I’ve had to do it all and it has taken its toll on me.

“I can’t thank Francis House enough not just for this opportunity but the other opportunities that have come around in Paul’s life since he has been part of the Francis House family.”

Fulfill a need

Sir Warren Smith KCVO KStJ JP has been involved with Francis House Children’s Hospice from the beginning and who attended the opening of the hospice by Diana, Princess of Wales in 1991.

He said: “It’s phenomenally important to have this project at Barcicroft Road because the state alternative is appalling. The thought of those young people going into elderly care homes fills me with horror and it’s to the credit of Francis House and the whole team under David Ireland that there is such a facility in Manchester. It is something we should all be proud of.”

The majority of the young people will have taken up permanent residence by March.

Bishop John Arnold the Bishop of Salford said: “To have a place specifically to cater for the needs of young people is really so rewarding for them and their families.

“It’s quite extraordinary the progress that has been made and the professionalism that has been brought into the planning and development of this place and the vision behind it. To be here to see it actually come to fruition is wonderful. It is clearly going to fulfil the needs of the six young people who will live here.”

After the opening ceremony, the Bishop held a mass in the chapel at Francis House to remember the ministry of Monsignor Thomas Mulheran, one of the people responsible for the establishment of Francis House Children’s Hospice who died on 27th September 2022.