Charity home faces the challenge to survive (From Stroud News and Journal)

Charity home faces the challenge to survive

THERE can be few people who look forward to the prospect of entering a residential home in their old age but as we are generally living longer these days the chances are that many of us will end our days in a retirement or nursing home.

With a bit of luck we will retain all our mental faculties even though our bodies fail us but it could be that we will end up as patients in an EMI (elderly mentally infirm) unit because the responsibility for our care has become too great for our families.

The choice of nursing home, however, whether for an alert or a confused elderly person, will always be a tremendous worry, to patients and families alike.

In the Stroud Valleys there are several good small nursing homes but one of the brightest jewels in the crown has to be Horsfall House, the Minchinhampton Centre for the Elderly.

Horsfall House is unusual in many ways. Firstly it is large, catering not only for 42 residents but also for around 90 people in the day centre which operates six days a week.

Secondly it caters for the elderly and the elderly mentally infirm in two separate units.

Thirdly, it provides an extensive home care service, with nurses visiting more than 80 people in their homes each week, for some people just daily but for others several times a day, depending on their needs.

In addition, Horsfall House provides a private meals on wheels service, delivering to about 10 people a day.

To have all these services provided by a single centre is unusual, if not unique, but Horsfall House is able to do so because it is a charity.

The charity was founded in 1982 to meet the needs of an increasing number of elderly people in Minchinhampton and the population within a radius of six kilometres of the Ragged Cott public house.

Initially it operated as a day centre for the elderly based at George Pearce House in Minchinhampton but the need for a residential centre soon became apparent and it was decided to set about fundraising.

The biggest boost for the charity was when the land for the centre was given by Jean Horsfall who lived in Minchinhampton close to the present buildings.

The charity then raised more than £1 million for the building and in 1994 Horsfall House opened with 22 beds.

Such was the demand that an extension was needed and, after more fundraising, was built in 1997, bringing the total number of beds to 42, of which 20 are for EMI patients, some of whom are as young as 60.

*For more see this week's News and Journal