Wife's plea to keep husband's Kirklees care home open

Helen Plaskett said her husband John Jackson felt happy and safe in his care home

A woman has pleaded with council chiefs not to close her husband's care home because of the "trauma" it would cause.

Kirklees Council is consulting on plans to shut two dementia residential homes as part of cost-cutting plans to avoid effectively going bankrupt.

Helen Plaskett said moving husband John Jackson out of the home he has lived in for two years would cause anxiety.

The council said the health and wellbeing of residents with dementia remained its priority.

Kirklees Council has warned of cuts to services as it needs to make savings of more than £47m in next year's budget.

Families opposed to the care home proposals have gathered in Huddersfield to stage a protest.

They are campaigning to keep open Castle Grange in Huddersfield and Claremont House in Heckmondwike, where Mr Jackson is looked after.

The home in Heckmondwike is under threat along with Castle Grange in Huddersfield

Ms Plaskett said moving her husband into a home was a "terrifying decision" but she could no longer look after him on her own because of his care demands.

"The worry for us as families is that change is really, really hard so when he first went in it wasn't easy," she said.

"After about three months everything turned on its head. I could go in and he was in communal areas and just showing happiness and relief."

Ms Plaskett said she was able to take her husband out and bring him back home for visits, knowing he was happy to return to Claremont which he viewed as his home.

"I go and I can see him three times a week and it's a lovely environment - there's no fear or anxiety.

"That feeling has been enabled by a home that makes me feel very welcome and that's why he's so happy there."

Sarah Blagbrough said they had struggled to find a home suitable for her mum Janet

She added: "The council can't go around evicting people like this from their homes. It would be another traumatic event for them and their families to deal with."

She said she wanted the council to "please, consider these people not as numbers, not as balancing the books, but as real people that are extremely vulnerable."

Another person fighting against the closures, Sarah Blagbrough, said they struggled to find a home that could meet her mother Janet's needs.

But since moving into Castle Grange last year, the home had been "amazing" and her mother was very happy.

The council previously said the home's 46 residents would be moved to "independent sector care homes" if the closures went ahead.

Councillor Jackie Ramsay, Cabinet Member for Health and Social Care, said the outcome of the consultation would be put before the council in the new year for a decision.

She added: "We are facing some tough financial challenges but despite this our priority is and will remain, the health and wellbeing of residents living with dementia, and we will work with all parties to make sure our care home residents receive the care they need."