CAN I inform your readers that C.A.R.E. (the Caring Alliance for Rest home Elderly) is stepping up our work to keep the Care Homes open. We have a more formal organisation now, with Maureen Horn as chairperson.

As friends and relatives we have been asked to represent over 50 of the residents during consultations with social workers and care planning officers.

We are concerned that the correct procedures may not have been followed in some cases. It is possible that legal action may be required to ensure that the future care of the residents is planned correctly.

Our focus now is to ensure that all those responsible for the care of our friends and relatives are provided with all the facts. The more we investigate the facts the more confident we are that some of the Care Homes will need to be kept open.

Keeping some of them open is the only alternative to the Council lowering standards or reducing the level of care provided to many of the residents. We are confident that the majority of councillors would not agree to reducing the level of care to our friends and relatives.

We thank the Citizen for the fair and frank way it has covered this issue.

Steven Bate,

Spokesman for C.A.R.E.

17 Ashfield Rd,

Blackpool.