(Fr) Michael Campion, Chairman, St Cuthbert’s Care writes:
“The Chief Executive of St Cuthbert’s Care, Austin Donohoe, will retire at Easter next year. The Directors (Trustees) of the charity are now seeking a replacement and will be advertising the post in The Newcastle Journal and The Northern Cross in the coming weeks. It is hoped to have an appointment made by the end of this year.
“At the request of Bishop Ambrose, Austin was appointed Chief Executive of the then Catholic Care in 1996 after it had become insolvent. Since then he has led a remarkable transformation of the charity which is now one of the largest and solvent social care agencies in the north-east. The re-formed St Cuthbert’s Care now operates two 45-Bed Catholic Nursing Homes, four residential Children’s Homes, a significant and growing Fostering Service and, unique in England, the Alan Shearer Centre which offers a wide range of facilities for children and adults with profound disability. The charity also provides a range of services for people with learning disabilities and is heavily involved in community work across the region.
“St Cuthbert’s Care currently employs 350 full-time staff and has an annual budget of around £10m. As a measure of its progress, the charity recently purchased the Holy Cross Nursing Home in Sunderland from the Little Sisters of the Poor. Without this intervention, the Home would have closed and the site sold to developers.
“The Directors are immensely grateful to Austin for the highly professional and skilled service St Cuthbert’s Care now offers on behalf of the Diocese to the vulnerable people of our region.”
(Fr) Michael Campion
Chairman, St Cuthbert’s Care