Sisters announce sale of nursing home

The Poor Servants of the Mother of God announced on Friday that, 'after a period of careful consideration and consultation, they have decided, with great sadness, to withdraw from ownership of St Mary's Residential and Nursing Home in Streatham and from St Teresa's Nursing Home in Corston near Bath.

In a statement they said their intention is to find new owners prepared to take over and continue to run the homes. They are working to ensure that this will take place with as little disruption as possible to the residents.

Sister Elizabeth Crehan, Superior General and Chairperson of the Trustees said: "This has been a difficult decision for us. It has been taken as part of a review of our priorities and recognizes that we cannot continue to resource the Homes with the personnel and finance required to meet the highest standards of care. In addition, we have fewer Sisters and many are now elderly. We are actively seeking a new owner who will continue the high standards of care and respect for the elderly which we have offered at both St Mary's and St Teresa's."

St Mary's is a residential and nursing home. It is registered for 23 residential and 16 nursing beds. The home has been owned by the Poor Servants since 1888 when it was bought by the Foundress Mother Magdalen Taylor, as a country refuge.

The original building was rebuilt in 1932 to cater for elderly ladies in reduced circumstances. Since the 1930s the home has continued to provide care for the elderly. St Teresa's is registered as a 43 bed nursing home for the care of the elderly.

The Sisters have been associated with Corston since 1940 when their novices moved there to avoid the air raids on London. From 1942-1953 it was a private hospital. It has been concerned with care of the elderly since 1959.