St George’s Nursing Home in Witham, Essex, held a reopening event recently as staff, volunteers and guests gathered to mark the completion of 18 months of renovation work.

The much-needed renovations were funded by Outlook Care, a not-for-profit company and one of the largest providers of learning disability and older people’s services in the South East, which acquired St George’s in October 2022.

Speaking about the acquisition, Renaud Huck, chair of Outlook Care, said: “When we saw this amazingly well-run home, we knew it not only aligned with our ethos where every person is valued, included and empowered, it would be an asset too. We made a substantial investment to completely renovate St George’s and we did this sustainably.”

Much of the renovations included unseen elements of the property like the drains, guttering and mechanical and electrical installations.

Some of the more visible changes include: all the bedrooms have been redecorated, they have [a nurse-call system], a television, telephone point and internet facility and several of the ground floor rooms now have individual terraces; the kitchen’s been modernised, as have the communal areas.

Sally Morgan, registered manager at St George’s, said: “I’ve been here since 2014 and you could see the building was starting to show its age. It was in need of modernisation, but it was also important that the physical environment matched the natural warmth and hospitality of our staff and volunteers. The white and clinical look was definitely not for us.”

Priti Patel, Conservative MP for Witham, officially declared the home open (despite it not officially closing during the refurbishment process).