Clarence Place Residences says it's cost them £200,000 to renovate but their doors remain shut until Kent County Council registers it.
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00:00 Freshly made beds, a seating area and dining room and a team ready to go, but with no residents.
00:08 Clarence Place Care Home in Gravesend has been ready to open for six months,
00:13 but workers here are frustrated as their doors remain closed,
00:17 saying they still haven't been registered by Kent County Council.
00:21 It's cost Tricia around £200,000 to renovate and it's been given the green light by the Care Quality Commission,
00:29 but without KCC's approval these beds remain empty.
00:33 Maybe three or four years down the line we would be able to function as a fully private care home, self-funded,
00:43 but that's just not possible.
00:46 Yes, I understand that KCC want to make sure that we are able to provide the care that we're saying we're going to provide,
00:52 but the only way we can do that is if we're given a chance.
00:57 And local hospitals have been calling for more care homes in Kent.
01:01 They say it will take pressure off them and they want to encourage more residents out of hospital and into supported living.
01:08 Tricia's also hired a manager and chef and is having to pay them despite their doors remaining shut.
01:15 Our job is at risk and before I came here I was working in the NHS,
01:21 so I left it to come and it was a big decision because you leave the NHS where your salary is secure.
01:30 And then coming here is to show the community, to show the borough that we can still do a good job in care homes.
01:41 This is one of 17 empty beds the care home has waiting to be filled.
01:46 But they say it's not through lack of demand for the service, but due to certain barriers stopping them from opening their doors.
01:53 The house itself, I've just fallen in love with this house.
01:56 As soon as I come in here, the history, the feel of it, there's so many hidden places.
02:01 I know this house through and through now because I've been everywhere.
02:06 So the whole situation is very frustrating, not just about cooking,
02:09 just about the whole business, the house, the people, our little team so far.
02:15 In a statement, KCC said it's been in ongoing conversations with Mrs Patel.
02:20 It says it's awaiting documentation for the application to join the contract.
02:25 The council says Clarence Place is registered with the CQC as a residential home
02:30 and is currently able to undertake privately funding residents which do not require nursing care.
02:37 It says once the documentation is received, it will consider the application.
02:41 But Tricia says she has filled in all the paperwork required and says without KCC's registration,
02:48 as a start-up, it'll be tough to keep afloat.
02:51 Despite challenges faced, the team at Clarence Place say they won't give up
02:55 until they can finally open their doors and fill these beds with those in need.
03:01 Sophia Akin for KMTV in Gravesend.