NEW operators have been found for all of the Worcestershire care homes that were once run by Southern Cross.

Workers’ union GMB has released the names of 30 companies that are expected to take over 691 of 755 homes across Britain in the next two months.

Prospective operators are yet to be found for the remaining 64 properties.

Justin Bowden, GMB national officer for Southern Cross, said it was now down to local councils and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to assess the “fitness” of the prospective operators.

He said: “Operators must have the financial strength to take over these homes to provide decent standards of care to residents without a repeat of the financial difficulties that were encountered by Southern Cross.”

In Worcestershire, Pitchill House at Salford Priors, near Evesham, and Bowood Mews and Bowood Court, Redditch, are due to be transferred into the control of Court Cavend-ish by October 31.

Ravenstone in Droitwich and Bryden House in Kidderminster are set to be under the care of Orchard Care Homes.com by the end of September. Meanwhile, Shaw Healthcare is due to take over the running of Red Hill Court in London Road, Worcester, and Bondcare is set to assume responsibility for Henwick Grange in Hallow Road, Worcester. Completion dates for both have also been set for the end of September.

A spokesman for Worcestershire County Council said the CQC will inform them if and when it approves the new operators, to whom the council will then transfer its existing contracts with Southern Cross.

He said: “We will then closely monitor them, as we do all care home providers, to ensure they are meeting our required standards of care.”

Last month, GMB accused landlords of missing a deadline to find new companies to run 29 Southern Cross homes in the West Midlands, including seven in Worcestershire.

Once Britain’s largest care home operator, Southern Cross has all but collapsed because of rising rent bills and lower occupancy rates.

The company was ordered to return control of all of its homes to their landlords, who were told to find a new operator.

They were given a deadline of August 1 to appoint new operators for all 755 homes which house 31,000 elderly and vulnerable people and employ 42,500 staff.