THE Retired Nurses National Home has announced it is closing after nine years of service with a Bournemouth charity. 

Situated on the outskirts of Royal Bournemouth Hospital, RNNH focused on ‘giving older people in their care the chance to live fulfilled lives.’

The RNNH was gifted to Friends of the Elderly (FotE) in 2015, a charity that supports older people in care homes and day care services across England.

The home also offered a dementia unit staffed by a specially trained care team providing dementia-focused care.

In a letter written to the Daily Echo, it read: “Friends of the Elderly (FotE) confirms that, with regret, we will be closing our care home in Bournemouth, the residential and dementia care home, the RNNH.

“Regrettably, the intention to proceed has been delayed multiple times due to factors outside FotE's control.

“This has included deliberations by third parties regarding the utilisation of the broader Wessex Field site where the care home is located, and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“The charity’s board of trustees and senior leadership team have carefully considered making this difficult decision.”

The decision behind the closure came down to the building becoming no longer suitable to continue as a care home.

The letter continued: “Despite the dedication shown by our care team in caring for our residents, several issues exist with the building that means that the home does not meet FotE’s standards for property compliance.

“In addition, the RNNH is running at a considerable loss to the charity and has struggled to build occupancy back up following the impact that the Covid-19 pandemic had on admissions into the care home.

“FotE’s priority is to support our residents, relatives, and staff through this process. We appreciate the impact that this will have on our residents and our priority is their safety and wellbeing. We will be working closely with our residents and their relatives to support them to move to a new home over the coming months.”

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) report in August 2023 showed that the care home required improvement for its services.

The Retired Nurses National Home is located on Riverside Avenue, Bournemouth.