A NURSING home crisis in East Lancashire deepened today after it was revealed that three more had gone into receivership.

The news comes as relatives called for a change in the law after the deaths of three elderly people who were forced from homes in Blackburn and Rossendale after sudden closures in recent weeks.

Heywood-based company Westwood Care, which owns three local homes, is in financial difficulties and is now being run by Leeds-based receivers Stephen Hull and Geoffrey Martin. Up to 120 pensioners may be affected as The Fountains Nursing Home in Pleasington Close, Blackburn, is registered to care for 64 people, Hulton Care Nursing Home, Halifax Road, Nelson, is registered for 31 patients, and Roselands, Hurst Lane, Rawtenstall, is registered for 25.

Buyers are being sought for the three businesses but the homes may be closed if they can not be sold as a going concern to pay Westwood Care's creditors.

Solicitor Paul Ridout, acting for the receivers, said several companies had already shown an interest in taking over them over and he was confident the homes would not be closed.

He said: "The purpose of the receivership is to protect the homes and protect the people living in them. The homes will be run by better people and so the residents will get better care."

Harry Catherall, Blackburn with Darwen's assistant director of social services, said: "Social services inspectors from Blackburn with Darwen have visited the Blackburn home and are satisfied that it is still being adequately staffed and that the residents are being cared for. "Our priority is to ensure that the residents' quality of care is maintained and we will of course continue to monitor the situation, but at this stage the homes are still operating and look likely to continue to do so."

A spokeswoman for Lancashire County Council said: "We are fully aware of the circumstances of these homes and we are keeping the matter under careful review."

Sixteen elderly residents of Rowell Grange Nursing Home, Waterfoot, had to leave days before Christmas when the sale of the home fell through and receivers KPMG Corporate Recovery pulled the plug on the business.

Two of the evicted residents, Liz Hoyle, 95, and Walter Barnes, 88, died within a month. Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale Community Health Council have since called for a public inquiry into the closure. Earlier this month, staff and relatives struggled to find new homes for 13 elderly people in less than 24 hours when the St Emmanuel Residential Home for the Elderly Confused, Blackburn, closed suddenly after a year in receivership.

Frank Hessey, chairman of the Lancashire Care Association, said the nursing home industry had been heading towards crisis since 1993, when new laws meant social services departments replaced doctors in assessing whether elderly people needed nursing or residential care.

He said this resulted in more patients being sent to residential homes as nursing homes cost about £100 more per patient every week.

Pictured is the Fountains Care Home in Pleasington Close, Blackburn, owned by Westwood Care which is in receivership.

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