WHEN you’re desperately ill and battling long-term conditions such as dementia or Parkinson’s Disease, the love and support of family is hugely important.

That’s why many people today will have been horrified at the suggestion by health bosses that in future patients suffering from such conditions may be offered care placements outside the York area - potentially as far away as Wakefield, Doncaster or Richmondshire - if that proves cheaper.

The cash-strapped Vale of York Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) believes it could save almost £10 million a year. But patients’ groups are appalled at the prospect of vulnerable ill people being sent to be cared for far away from their families.

“People living with dementia benefit greatly from regular visits from loved ones,” said Judith King, of the Alzheimer’s Society. “(We have) serious concerns.” James Player, of Age UK York, meanwhile, warned there was a risk the proposals could lead to older people in care becoming isolated. “I’m concerned about the distress it might cause,” he said.

It seems a particularly unfortunate proposal given that today the Lord Mayor will be signing a declaration proclaiming York a Human Rights City. What does sending sick people away from their families because it is cheaper say about the value we place on human rights?

The CCG insists that for some patients living near the borders of the Vale of York, care placements in other NHS areas may actually be closer.

Possibly. And if that is sometimes the case, there would be no objection to a patient being sent ‘out of area’, provided the placement was of equal quality.

But we fear it could be a slippery slope that could lead to more vulnerable patients being sent to care placements far away from their families. That must not be allowed to happen.