Public's views to be sought over closure of council care homes

The consultation will seek people's views on proposals that the council should reduce the number of residential care homes and day care centres for elderly people that it runs, but continue to meet the needs of the most vulnerable with a broader range of services.

This will include looking at whether homes should be redeveloped to offer specialist care for people with dementia and frail or disabled people, intermediate care to help people to regain independence following a hospital stay, or respite care to give families and carers a break.

It is proposed that this will be achieved by closing some of the 19 council-run homes and commissioning more beds in care homes in the independent sector. The consultation will look at what the impact of changes could be on individual care home residents and their families, and at how this might be reduced.

Meetings will be arranged with residents in February, with input from carers and family members.

A council spokeswoman said: "No changes to anyone's residential care will be made until the customers are content with what is being proposed for them."

Demand at the council's 16 day centres for older people is also falling as more people choose to access support and services directly from their local communities.

"Current attendance at the centres range between 39 per cent and 62 per cent which means that keeping them all open is no longer financially viable," said the spokeswoman.

Proposals will look at how some centres could be redeveloped to offer daytime support to older people with dementia, and at ways to help other service users find alternative activities in their local communities.

Councillor Lucinda Yeadon, who has responsibility for adult social care, said the council was facing some difficult decisions in adult social care as the number of old people continued to grow at a time of budget cuts. "In light of this we have no option but to look at how we deliver our services going forward. We need to make sure that we have the services in place to look after our most vulnerable people with the resources that are available to us."