Care home in Norfolk Park called Beech Hill

My Dad was the boss at Beech Hill, when it was a care home in the 80's.

We lived in the cottage on the grounds - the one next to the road.

Lovely house and gardens.

 

We moved out in 1989 about a year after closure. I think the reason for the closure was because to access the laundry you had to walk through the kitchens - I was 9 when we moved so that may be a bit wrong.

 

After moving out it was awful to see the state the buildings got into. All the tiles were stripped off the roof, it was broken into and spray painted on the inside. (we went back for a nosey and peeked in the kitchen window)

 

I remember my Mother saying ' I hope they've not damaged my wardrobes'

As with it being a cottage and narrow access upstairs the wardrobes were built in situ and not taken when we moved!!!

 

I will always remember my brothers bed being removed through the window on moving day.

 

Whatever it's use is now, I'm so pleased it has been restored to it's previous glory. Mind you the stables were pretty uninhabitable when we were there, what with the stairs having collapsed!

 

Great days, Great memories.

 

My Dad would have been so happy that the buildings are being used again.

 

*Goes to dig out old photos!!*

I worked there in 86 and 87 and I remember your dad but I'm buggered if I can remember his name. George ? . It was a strange old place at that time for me . It wasn't an elderly unit as such as some of the the residents were in their late 40s and 50's. I think it was termed a Social Care home for people who had come out of the old "institutions".

You are right about it closing down due to the laundry. Too get to it you had to walk down a covered walk way too what was at some point in the past an outhouse but it was also mainly due to the bedrooms or dorms which had 4 or 6 men living in them at the time and the cost of converting them into single bedrooms that closed it.

It was a fantastic building with some great staff and the closest thing to One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest I've ever seen.

Look at http://www.sheffield.nhs.uk/services/beechhill.php

Beech Hill used to provide a certain amount of respite but no longer does so. My elderly disabled mother in law used to be offered respite there; at one time we had the luxury of a fortnight after every four weeks but it was reduced to one week in eight. Then, following a so-called "consultation" of interested parties, the NHS was determined to convert it into purely a rehabilitation centre. My m in law liked it there, the staff were very attentive and she got a good level of care; we did query the honesty of the consultation and even had her featured in The Star, but the process went on. She was offered alternative respite places, for the same expense as the NHS funded at Beech Hill, and after we had tried a couple of them and saw that the level of service was much poorer, and that she was unhappy there, we bit the bullet and determined not to send her to respite anywhere again as she would be happier staying at home. Although it did limit the extent to which we could go away on visits for several days at a time, we were prepared to forego that in the interests of her happiness and comfort. She died last New Year's Eve, leaving a big hole in the family; as one of her carers for nearly 17 years I loved her almost as my own mother.

At the time, we were very disappointed with the way the NHS Trust handled their decision to change the status of Beech Hill. We contacted the local MP and other people who we thought might help us in maintaining a respite service there for people already on their books, but got nowhere. We understood why the Trust wanted a change of plan, and yes, to be fair, respite elsewhere was offered; but we felt that their handling of the process was rather tactless, peremptory and opaque, that these elderly people were a bit of a nuisance to them and that they'd rather they went away or dropped off their perch.

While the respite service was still going, we can't speak highly enough of the caring attitude of the staff and their attention to my m in law's comfort, they were wonderful. This is why it was such a disappointment when the service was discontinued. Of course I can't speak about the policies of the places which were offered as alternatives--we visited them before using them and got various promises about the kind of care, but perhaps they were more interested in getting the payment from the NHS than in providing a commensurate level of service. At one of them, when we went for the first time to see her after she had been taken there to be settled in, we found she had been put into the electric bed the wrong way round (so her head and body couldn't be elevated) and they did not provide an inflated pressure mattress although we had made the point it was necessary to prevent bedsores--after that, with other respites, we sent with her the one she used at home. This lack of attention was typical of the kind of service we received, hence our decision to do without respite altogether. It's not much "respite" when one is constantly worried about whether the person sent away to give a period of rest to carers is actually happy and well looked after at the place.

Excellent post,Waltheof,my own experience of Beech Hill was similar.

My mother had respite at Beech Hill and its predecessor,Coleridge House at the Northern General,for a total of 18 years until she died two years ago.

At Coleridge House,we had a carers' support group and a bereavement group,which were both discontinued at Beech Hill.The support group were told that we would be fully consulted about services at Beech Hill after the move,but we were totally left in the cold.What could and should have been a marvellous and much-needed respite facility was ruined by the attitudes of certain NHS administrators who thought they knew better than us carers.

On my mother's death,I emailed Beech Hill to inform them,and did not even receive the courtesy of a reply.

I think that says it all!

I worked there in 86 and 87 and I remember your dad but I'm buggered if I can remember his name. George ? . It was a strange old place at that time for me . It wasn't an elderly unit as such as some of the the residents were in their late 40s and 50's. I think it was termed a Social Care home for people who had come out of the old "institutions".

You are right about it closing down due to the laundry. Too get to it you had to walk down a covered walk way too what was at some point in the past an outhouse but it was also mainly due to the bedrooms or dorms which had 4 or 6 men living in them at the time and the cost of converting them into single bedrooms that closed it.

It was a fantastic building with some great staff and the closest thing to One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest I've ever seen.

I DID MY Y.T.S. Their your dad was great person who showed me how to do a great job, enjoyed the months spent there, he once showed me a paper clipping of him being sheffields first male nurse. Thanks again for the memory of the place and your dad.