Derbyshire County Council proposes care homes closures

The Hillcrest residential home, a special dementia unit, is one of those proposed for closure

Scaled down plans to close four care homes and axe six short-term beds at a day care centre for elderly people in Derbyshire have been announced.

Derbyshire County Council said the closures, which would save up to £2m, were as a result of an "in-depth" review into facilities and costs.

The proposals supersede plans, approved in 2012, to shut 20 care homes and replace them with "extra care" flats.

Up to 175 jobs could be at risk at the homes which house 96 residents.

The homes and centre under threat are:

• The Willows, Ripley

• Red House, Chesterfield

• The Glebe, Alfreton

• Hillcrest, Kirk Hallam, Ilkeston

• Six short-term care beds at the Ecclesfold Resource Centre, Chapel-en-le-Frith.

A review of council-run residential homes was carried out after the authority's administration changed from Conservative to Labour. New proposals were then drawn up.

In 2012, the Conservative-run council approved a scheme to shut 20 residential care homes and replace them with 1,600 "extra care apartments".

'Pressure on budgets'

Since the announcement three homes have closed and two are in the process of shutting.

Gill Ferguson, who launched the Derby Care Homes Campaign in 2012, said she was "devastated" closures had been proposed, particularly Hillcrest, a designated dementia unit.

She said: "The effects on the residents and their families are very far reaching.

"At least they [the county council] are trying to keep the bulk of their care homes and for that I give them credit...but perhaps they should reconsider closing a unit where people are so vulnerable."

Councillor Paul Smith, cabinet member for adult social care, said final decisions would not be made until a consultation with residents and families ends in September.

"The proposed closures are not directly contributing to the cuts required of the council as the intention is that money saved by any closures that do take place would be reinvested in residential and home care services.

"It is against this backdrop that we must ensure everything we do is as efficient, cost-effective and sustainable as possible," he said.