Willowbrook retirement residents in Tile Hill oppose care changes

Some Willowbrook residents are unhappy about plans to introduce phone-hub for emergency assistance

People living in a retirement village have been left "frightened" over planned changes to their care, which include a reduction in on-site carers.

The changes, due to be introduced at Tile Hill's Willowbrook in April, involve just one carer living on site.

Residents are set to submit a petition opposing the changes, to Coventry City Council.

Midland Heart, the company that runs Willowbrook, said a pull-cord system would still provide 24/7 support.

Les, who lives in Willowbrook, said residents were unhappy that from next spring they would sometimes have to contact a hub if they required emergency assistance instead of having carers on-site.

'Desperately worried'

"Being on-site 24/7, they can answer the alarm call within minutes. Now, that can be critical," he told BBC Radio CWR.

He added that care staff currently helped residents to feel safe, but some have been left "frightened, desperately worried, about the situation after they're gone".

Residents have teamed up with some local councillors to submit the petition to the council.

Jack Kelly, Midland Heart's director of corporate affairs, said Willowbrook was an independent living scheme that was not intended to provide intensive support.

"There are a lot of people who are actually living independent lives - the catering's not used as much, people want to cook for themselves," he told BBC Radio CWR.

"So actually we're just making sure that the vast majority of people are getting what they want out of the scheme."

Mr Kelly explained the changes were not being introduced to cut costs.

The company, he said, was investing in support such as the pull-cord system, which would instantly connect them to a support team, and a proposed CCTV system that would be monitored at all times.

"I'm really sorry that people feel frightened by the changes, that's obviously not what we intended," he added.