Fears over respite care for the elderly in Sandwell

Fears have been raised over the future of respite care for the elderly if plans to close four care homes in the Black Country are given the go ahead.

Consultation on plans to axe four Sandwell homes is due to end on Wednesday, with first closures as early as February. Four of nine council-run care homes were closed in 2008.

After this Sandwell Council vowed their remaining homes would be "centres of excellence" for respite care. However, it now plans to close all but one of the last five.

A total of 15 respite beds are available at homes due to close, including Grafton Lodge, Oldbury; Greenhaven Resource Centre, Great Bridge; John Dando Residential Centre, Great Barr and Glebefields Resource Centre, Tipton.

Seventy six permanent residents will move to 'extra care facilities', with 220 jobs at risk. However, concerns were raised about the future of those using respite care.

Blackheath Tory Councillor Mary Docker said: "If these closures have to go ahead, for whatever reason then Sandwell Council has a duty to ensure these people are accommodated accordingly."

John Hadley, aged 72, of Springfield Close, Rowley Regis, said: "After all this talk of developing "super centres" for respite care we see that all the council plans to do is shut these homes down.

"The council is concentrating all its efforts on providing extra care housing, but you can't offer this as respite, or these people will be taking up places where people could live full time."

Councillor Linda Horton, cabinet member for adult social care, said: "We have plans to make sure we retain opportunities for respite care.

"Those will eventually be in extra care facilities and independent private care homes. The closures will be phased over two years and until the last unit is closed there will be in-house respite care available.

"We know how much carers value respite and we have an ongoing commitment to support them and we will ensure it remains available for them."