Your Politics: Care home closures

"Care home closures are devastating for the elderly. I have seen elderly people weep when their home is closed. I have seen how they suffer."

Yvonne Hossack, Kettering

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Get involved

Yvonne Hossack says there's a crisis in Britain's care homes. Homes across the country are closing their doors as local authorities transfer ownership to the private sector or put resources into caring for elderly people at home.

Local councils say the changes they're making will mean better provision in the future. The government wants more of us to be looked after at home when we get old.

But in the short term it often means that elderly people are forced to move. And that, says Yvonne, is difficult for many of them to cope with.

A lawyer based in Kettering, she's founded Elderly People in Crisis (EPIC) to help campaigners across the country fight care home closures. She says closing a home can be devastating for its residents.

"We followed what happened when one home closed," she explains. "We found that of the 41 residents, 15 died within a year of closure. That's more than twice the national average, comparing with a control group of people of a similar age in other homes."

So now Yvonne is taking action under the Human Rights Act. She says that closing a care home infringes the residents' right to life.

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What you can do:

You can contact Yvonne Hossack by emailing her at:
[e-mail]

Campaigners fighting care home closures across the country are represented by Relatives Action Group for the Elderly. Their website is at:
http://www.ragenational.com/