Nursing home to reopen as GP practise after landslip forced residents out

A Co Down nursing home is to reopen after the collapse of a row of gardens on the hill above it caused all 17 residents to be evacuated.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

In March 2013 the 17 residents of the Skeagh House care home in Dromore Co Down were evacuated after the gardens of a row of houses were involved in a landslip.

Now the nursing home is due to partially reopen as a doctors surgery, however it took The News Letter enquiries ranging over eight weeks to secure assurances that the site is now safe.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

One resident in the houses above the centre told the News Letter: “At the time of the landslip the back gardens of all the houses in the row slipped down the hill towards the nursing home. One neighbour only had a few feet of garden left when she stepped out her back door and I lost most of mine as well.”

Engineers work on strengthening the retaining wall behind the nursing home after the landslip in 2013.Engineers work on strengthening the retaining wall behind the nursing home after the landslip in 2013.
Engineers work on strengthening the retaining wall behind the nursing home after the landslip in 2013.

In March 2013 the Southern Health Trust confirmed that builders and engineers had moved in to assess the landslip. They advised that a retaining wall to the rear of the nursing home was also “at risk of collapse” and that the Trust was advised to relocate all 17 residents.

On the foot of reports that the premises was to reopen, the News Letter approached Armagh Banbridge and Craigavon Borough (ABC) Council on December 2 to ask if its Building Control Department had passed the houses as safe and if Skeogh House was safe to reopen.

However the council advised that the Southern Trust had closed the premises and it should be able to advise on the matter. Asked if the risk of further collapse was not a Building Control matter, the council insisted that the situation was nothing to do with it, as it was being dealt with by the insurance companies of all the relevant parties.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The day after, December 3, the News Letter asked the Southern Health trust if it was true that it was now planning to use Skeagh House to help roll out the Covid vaccine, which it flatly denied.

However The News Letter approached the Trust again over a month later - on January 12, on the foot of further reports, this time to ask if Dromore Doctors Surgery - which is rolling out Covid jabs - is to move into the premises. This time the Trust confirmed that it is in the process of leasing part of the premises to a GP practise.

The News Letter asked the trust if it has been assured that the structures above the nursing home are now secure and that there is no concern of a repeat of the major subsidence which happened previously.

The spokesman replied: “Investigations/surveys were carried out in relation to the partial refurbishment of Skeagh House.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Asked to clarify if he was saying the site was now safe, he then replied: “Yes.”

The resident who spoke to the News Letter said she was surprised how fast the process was moving.

“I got a neighbourhood notification letter from the council dated December 16 notifying us of a proposed change of use from nursing home to GP surgery for the site,” she said. “It was not that long after that we saw work beginning on the nursing home. I thought to myself - ‘that was quick’.”  She said that since the landslip, a contractor had done extensive work to restore all the gardens safely.  

Dromore Doctors Surgery was invited to comment but nobody was available.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

It is understood it has been assured the location is now completely safe.

The GP practise has been located at Gallows Street about a mile away for almost 30 years and has outgrown the premises as the town’s population has significantly developed in that time.

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our advertisers - and consequently the revenue we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Subscribe to newsletter.co.uk and enjoy unlimited access to the best Northern Ireland and UK news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit https://www.newsletter.co.uk/subscriptions now to sign up.

Our journalism costs money and we rely on advertising, print and digital revenues to help to support them. By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website.

Alistair Bushe

Editor