Families vow to keep fighting care home closures

Families of those affected are battling against the proposed move by Kirklees Council

Campaigners have vowed to keep fighting the planned closure of two specialist care homes for dementia patients in West Yorkshire.

Kirklees Council plans to shut Castle Grange in Huddersfield and Claremont House in Heckmondwike as part of its need to make cuts worth £47.8m.

A decision is set to be made by the council's cabinet on 20 February after a public consultation ended.

The local authority said it was studying the public feedback ahead of a final decision.

Claremont House, in Heckmondwike, is one of the two council-run facilities at risk of closure

Families of the affected residents met in Mirfield on Monday night to discuss how to keep the issue on the agenda.

Solicitors Irwin Mitchell have been recruited to legally represent the group, with the potential of taking the matter to a judicial review should the council decide to close the homes.

Campaigner Helen Plaskett said the meeting had been a "positive" one.

Speaking to BBC Radio Leeds, Ms Plaskett said: "We're trying to find other ways to convince them they've got to keep it open.

"We are just going to keep pushing and pushing and pushing."

She continued: "We know there's a great financial burden on the local councils up and down the country, but we need them to see that dementia care needs to be saved for the future - especially for our vulnerable loved ones who are living in those homes."

Helen Plaskett says her husband, John Jackson, is comfortable at the "fantastic" home

Ms Plaskett, whose husband John Jackson has lived at Claremont House for two years, said many of the dementia patients at the two homes had come from privately-run care facilities that had been unable to meet their needs.

"We're keeping this horror story away from our loved ones, we don't want them to know any of those risks," she said.

"John's settled and happy and cared for by wonderful staff, it's a fantastic home and we just need to shout that out loud."

Councillor Jackie Ramsay, Kirklees' cabinet member for health and social care, said: "We have come to the end of a 12-week consultation process to review council-run dementia residential care in Kirklees.

"We are now analysing the feedback from families of residents, staff and other stakeholders and the outcome of the consultation will be presented to cabinet next month for a final decision.” 

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