A PRESTWICH family is heartbroken after losing its fight to keep an autistic relative in a special home.
Health and social services bosses have ordered Mr Gerard Dunn to be moved into community care.
More than 600 people signed a petition calling for Gerard to be allowed to stay in Raby Hall, an Autistic Society Home in the Wirral. But after months of battling, his relatives have been defeated in the courts.
They challenged a decision by Bury and Rochdale Health Authority and Bury social services to move Gerard (39), who was told in September that his care was inappropriate.
The family's campaign was backed by the National Society for Mentally Handicapped People in Residential Care (Rescare).
A review was commissioned by social services and the health authority in March to break the deadlock.
But his family are furious and upset with the latest ruling, saying Gerard is losing friends and facilities which will set him back.
Bury and Rochdale Health Authority said independent clinical assessments had been carried out but felt Gerard Dunn's placement did not meet his current and future needs.
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