A GRIMETHORPE care home which has provided specialist support to dementia sufferers for 25 years has closed.

The Chronicle revealed in May that Bupa Care Homes were pulling the plug on 90-bed Hall Steads, on Stacey Crescent, and the home’s final residents left at the end of last week.

Staff were placed on notice by Bupa, which cited low occupancy levels as the reason for the closure after the provider conducted an internal review at the facility and found it was half empty.

Karen Walker, who has worked at Hall Steads for 19 years, thanked the local community for their support and told the Chronicle that it has been ‘heart-wrenching’ for staff and residents.

Read more in this weeks Barnsley Chronicle