Battle to save care homes

Mar 20 2008 By Tony Deeley

A DESPERATE family is lodging an appeal with European human rights officials in a last-ditch bid to halt the closure of several Sandwell Council-run old people's homes.

Kingsbury House in King Street, Wednesbury, which houses Christine Walker's 90-year-old mother, Ivy Gorton, is among four Sandwell old people's homes being axed.

They are due to be shut this year as part of council plans to modernise services.

The others are Bromford Resource Centre in West Bromwich, Knowle in Rowley Regis and Birchfield at Oldbury.

Residents from the four homes are mostly being moved into warden-controlled accommodation linked to specialist health care.

This is in keeping with Government guidelines, which advocates the provision of "extra care housing" away from traditional residential care. But Christine and her husband, Alan, who are fighting the Kingsbury closure, are returning appeal forms to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg in an 11th-hour bid to win it a reprieve. Their move comes after receiving letters from both Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Tory leader David Cameron saying they were unable to help.

Sandwell councillor Mavis Hughes, who is backing the couple's case, said only a handful of residents, including Mrs Gorton, had still to be moved from Kingsbury.

Coun Hughes said: "Under European law there is a section relating to the obligation to respect human rights. We are going to try to contest the closure on that basis.

"None of the elderly residents wanted to move from Kingsbury. Some who have gone are not happy to be in their new environment."

Mrs Walker said today: "I feel devastated that it may be too late to save Kingsbury, but if I can help save the other homes then so be it."

Sandwell Council said the closure decision was based on extensive consultation.

Cabinet member for adult services and health Coun Darren Cooper said: "We are on track to close the four homes within the timescales agreed by Cabinet in November.

"Our social work teams have been working hard to ensure that residents are supported to select new homes or move into extracare housing.

"We are working with those concerned to ensure that the process around the decision is transparent and that we have explained the reasons for it.

"By listening and responding in this way, to date, we have avoided any need for legal challenges."