PLANS to close 35 residential care homes in Lancashire -- including nine in Preston and South Ribble -- have sparked fury among some sectors of the community.

That is why The Citizen has pledged to put your questions to the decision makers.

This week we received a moving letter from Mrs V Nowland, of Millcroft, Fulwood, Preston, who is concerned about the welfare of her 81-year-old mother who suffers from angina, bronchitis and short-term memory loss.

Mrs Nowland believes her mother would be safer in a care home because of her forgetful nature.

She states: "Mum is an intelligent lady and can make decisions, she just can't remember making them and can't carry them out.

"She doesn't look after herself anymore. You have to tell her to change her clothes and have a bath because she can't remember."

Despite requesting her mother go into a home Mrs Nowland states: "We were told they don't do care homes anymore, but mum could have carers."

Mrs Nowland believes her mother is caught up in a "Cinderella service for the elderly" and is at risk. She states: "Mum should not be on her own. We are not nurses and neither are the carers."

Her question to Coun Cheetham is: "Would he accept this care for his parents and what's he going to do about my mother and people like her trapped in this Cinderella system?"

Coun Cheetham replied: "The proposals recognise that everyone's needs are different.

"If a person is assessed as needing residential or nursing care then it will be provided. But it will be possible for people to keep their independence and also receive the appropriate level of care as we develop the concept of very sheltered housing with housing associations and borough councils.

"These facilities will remove dangers around the home, provide opportunities for intensive support and use a variety of technologies to help care for people so that they do get the high quality care and support they need. Such schemes operate in many other parts of the country and I want these services to be developed in Lancashire as part of our vision for the future.

"Currently, we are also extending our intensive home care services for people who do not want or do not need to move out of their current home.

"I intend to provide a first class service for Lancashire's older people not a Cinderella service. The future services will be better than those currently available because they will be designed to offer a wider choice."