As many of you are aware, the Albany residential care home in London Road was owned by Southern Cross. Here is the latest press release dated 11 July  from the county council

Trading in the shares of Southern Cross, which operates six homes in Oxfordshire, was suspended today after its landlords said they wanted to leave the group.

However the company said that the continuation of care for all of its residents in its 752 homes nationwide was its top priority, a view echoed by the county council.

Southern Cross has 223 beds in its Oxfordshire homes, 115 of which are currently occupied by clients funded by Oxfordshire County Council.

The company plans to transfer the operation of its care homes to other providers, which could include current landlords taking over the operation of some homes. However it is not fully clear at this early stage when this may happen.

The council therefore expects that Southern Cross will stop running homes in the future – but this would not mean that homes would close. The company is working with other parties to ensure the continued operation of their homes by other providers.

Officers at Oxfordshire County Council have been in close contact with Southern Cross for a number of months and have been developing a contingency plan to identify sufficient capacity in other care homes, should those places be required.

Discussions have been and are being held by the council with a number of other organisations about the situation, including The Care Quality Commission, The Association of Directors of Adult Social Services, Oxfordshire Primary Care Trust and Age UK Oxfordshire.

Council officers have been in contact with the management of Southern Cross’ Oxfordshire care homes today about the company’s announcement.

Council staff  are on hand to answer questions about the current situation regarding Southern Cross. They can be reached on 0845 050 7666.