RESIDENTIAL care homes in Bury are continuing to close and beds are still being lost. How long will this continue before the council ends the uncertainty?

I am aware that Bury Council are in the High Court over the matter of fees paid to the private homes, but is it ethical to pay a higher rate to new residents only, and not to existing ones? Will this arrangement mark the start of a two-tier system?

My understanding is that, once an assessment of an elderly person has been made, the local authority can not then force on them something that may be detrimental to their health.

When an elderly person has spent a considerable time in one residential location they come to regard that as their "permanent" home.

I therefore challenge this Labour council to state that, where this situation prevails, they believe that it is not detrimental to that person to impose on them "short stay" status, with all the uncertainty that implies.

So does making all permanent bed places into "short stay" not hint at a hidden agenda to, once again, close more homes?

It is heart-breaking to hear the comments of many elderly residents who face the possibility of yet another traumatic upheaval. This situation has gone on too long in Bury. Now is the time for some decisions.

COUNCILLOR

DENISE BIGG,

Elton Ward.