‘We’ve nowhere to go if Grove House care home shuts’

An 88-year-old resident of a care home which is threatened with closure has said she and her husband have “nowhere to go” if it shuts.

Betty and James Unsworth, 86, have lived at Grove House in Adlington, Lancashire, for two years.

The care home is one of five currently under review by Lancashire County Council, along with five day centres

County Hall said no decision had yet been made, adding it was “consulting to find out people’s views to help us make the best decision when the issue is considered by Cabinet”.

The Unsworths’ daughter Gaynor Harrison said she was concerned about any potential relocation.

“I don’t want them to be moved miles away so that they’re not near the family, she said.

“Everything’s nice [here], it’s nice and clean, the staff look after them properly, I think they’d be heartbroken if they had to leave.”

Betty said: “We don’t want to go from here because it’s great, where are we going to go? We’ve nowhere to go.”

She pleaded with the local authority: “Don’t close it, think about us, because we like it here.”

Another resident of the home, 92-year-old John Payne said it would be “very hard” if he had to find somewhere else to live, adding: “I like it where I am.”

He fears he would lose his community both in the village of Adlington, where he has friends who regularly visit him, and the friends he has made while living at Grove House.

His daughter Christine Sweatman said it would be “devastating” if they had to find a new place for him to live.

She said: “They’ve still got to find places for people to go, how are they going to relocate so many people?

“Just trying to find somewhere else would be a nightmare.”

Helen Halliwell’s dad Thomas Woodruff, 90, who has dementia, has lived in Adlington his whole life.

She said: “We can’t think where he would go, Lancashire is a big place, so it means that dad could be put in Ormskirk, Skelmersdale, Ingol or further up in Preston, for my mum to get there, that would be three or four buses.”

County Councillor Graham Dalton said he wanted residents and families to share their views with the consultation currently being carried out.

He said: “We know that for many, these homes are not just buildings, they are places of comfort, familiarity and connection.

“The consultation we are running is a really important opportunity for people to share their views and help shape the future of adult social care in our county.”

As well as Grove House, the care homes under scrutiny are Favordale in Colne, Milbanke in Kirkham, Thornton House in Thornton Cleveleys and Woodlands in Clayton-le-Moors.

The day centres are Byron View, Colne, the Derby Centre in Ormskirk, Milbanke Day Centre in Kirkham, Teal Close in Thornton Cleveleys and Vale View in Lancaster.

A final decision will be made in February.