Find a way to keep care homes open, council told

L ANCASHIRE County Council should commit to exploring how - rather than whether - it can continue to operate 10 elderly care homes and day centres which have seen a question mark placed over their futures.

- BY PAUL FAULKNER

That is the call from the authority's main opposition leader, Azhar Ali, who has made a direct appeal to county council leader Stephen Atkinson to rethink a controversial review of the facilities, which was launched last month after the buildings - in Chorley, Fylde, Hyndburn, Lancaster, Pendle, West Lancashire and Wyre - were deemed to be in "significantly poor condition".

A public consultation is currently being carried out into five residential homes and five day services ahead of their possible "reprovision" next year - a process that could result in a range of outcomes, including closure.

That threat has sparked concern amongst residents, users and their families - and has led to petitions being created across the county, attracting thousands of signatures.

The Reform UK-run authority insists no final decisions have been made and, at a meeting of its health and adult services scrutiny committee last week, it emerged that the quality of care would be one of the factors taken into account when determining whether or not the facilities remain open.

However, County Cllr Ali has now written to County Cllr Atkinson warning that the review in its current form risks leading to "a tragic loss of lives".

He has formally called for a halt to it - and for a cross-party group instead to be established to explore drawing up an "investment plan" for each building, based on the "essential and desirable" repairs that would need to be carried out over the next three years. Asked by the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) whether the starting point for that process should be a presumption that the county council would continue running the services, he agreed - and said the focus must be on "how we can save them".

The Progressive Lancashire alliance group leader also claimed the care homes could be "privatised" if the county council walked away from them.