The West Yorkshire care services under threat from budget cuts
We're continuing our week-long look at how you could be affected by cash-strapped councils' budget proposals
Some care services in West Yorkshire could be closed, scaled back or become more expensive as our local councils try to save millions of pounds.
All this week we’re taking a special look at how their budget plans could affect you.
In Kirklees, it was recently confirmed two specialist dementia care homes have been saved after huge public opposition to plans to close them.
But in Leeds, the council is planning to close Knowle Manor care home in Morley and ‘repurpose’ Dolphin Manor in Rothwell as it tries to save £58m over the next 12 months.
More than 700 people have signed a petition to save Knowle Manor.
Carol Allen’s mum Barbara has been a resident there for the last two years:
“After a spell in hospital a couple of weeks ago, all she could say was ‘I want to go home, I want to go home’….and home for her is Knowle Manor.
“She loves it there and she doesn’t want to go. And the staff are excellent, they’re like their second family.
“It’s not just the care home itself, it’s the community. It’s been open since 1965 and it’s well known in the heart of Morley, the heart of Leeds. And to lose that is going to be devastating.”
Carol says the home had been told they were getting a grant last year and residents were told they could have their bedrooms redone. They were given colour charts and asked to choose what colour paint they would like, with work due to start in October.
Then two weeks before Christmas, Carol says the ‘bombshell’ news was broken to staff and residents:
“They’ve no empathy on the feelings of the old people. They’re taking their home from them and what’s worse than that? That’s all they have to live for, the home where they live in.
“Let the residents see their lives out there, let them stay happy for the time that they’ve got there rather than upheave them. They don’t understand the emotional stress they’re putting on the residents.”
The council’s budget proposals say Knowle Manor has been earmarked for closure due to the building not being adequate for future care provision, whilst Dolphin Manor is to be ‘repurposed’ to become a recovery hub.
A Leeds City Council spokesperson said: “We are currently consulting with the residents, their families and carers, and with the staff at Knowle Manor and Dolphin Manor to seek their views about the proposals relating to the two homes.
“We will continue to work with the residents and their families to understand the impact on them and provide ongoing support, should the decisions be approved.”
Elsewhere, Calderdale council is planning to start charging for care services within Heatherstones which provides temporary residential care to help people adjust after being in hospital (after an initial free six week period).