Care facilities to close at two Christchurch retirement villages

Friday, 8 August 2025

Care facilities at the retirement village from which Christchurch woman Elisabeth Nicholls disappeared before her body was found weeks later will be closed down.

The Margaret Stoddart Retirement Village in Riccarton will cease its care facilities, along with those at Woodcote Retirement Village in Hornby, Ryman Healthcare has confirmed.

A spokesperson said the decision was unrelated to “the very sad events involving Elisabeth Nicholls”.

The decision applies only to the closure of rest home care, where residents receive support from staff, while independent living residents will remain on site, the company said. The closure will affect 40 care residents at Margaret Stoddart and 39 at Woodcote.

In a statement to The Press, Ryman Healthcare chief executive Naomi James said affected residents will be moved to Kevin Hickman Retirement Village in Sockburn - its care centre and serviced apartments opened in June - or to another Ryman Healthcare facility if they preferred. The relocation of residents will happen over the next four months.

James said the opening of Kevin Hickman Village offered an opportunity to provide residents at Woodcote and Margaret Stoddart with modern living and care facilities.

“While the existing care facilities at Woodcote and Margaret Stoddart have served residents well, they are now more than 30 years old and no longer meet the standard of accommodation and experience we promise our residents and their families,” said James.

“The facilities are also limited in that they offer only one level of care, restricting the continuity of care that many residents now expect and need. That’s why we’ve made the difficult but necessary decision to close rest home care at Woodcote and Margaret Stoddart so we can ensure our residents receive the very best.”

James said affected residents and their families will be offered “priority transfers” to nearby villages at no additional cost.

On June 4, 79-year-old Nicholls, who had dementia, disappeared from the Margaret Stoddart Retirement Village, where she had been admitted only hours earlier. Her body was later found in a vacant property less than 300m from the home where she had lived with her husband.

A spokesperson for Ryman Healthcare previously said it provided rest home care to residents who could come and go independently, and was not a dementia care facility.

A Health NZ investigation is ongoing looking into the care Nicholls received and whether she was correctly assessed before being transferred to the non-secure village.