THE son of a man suffering from Alzheimer's disease says he is "disgusted" with a nursing home's decision to cut care for the most severely unwell residents - meaning 13 people will have to move.

Amelia House Care Home in Rawcliffe was put in special measures by Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspectors in March, who visited after a resident at the site suffered serious injuries following an incident. The organisation that runs the site, Four Seasons Health Care, has now announced plans to close one of three units at the home - the Carlton Unit which provides care for 13 residents suffering from severe dementia.

Steve Depport was told that his 90-year-old father, Charles, who is a widower, is one of the residents who will need to move to a new home.

He said: “I was totally shocked. I just can’t believe they are now pulling out and dumping all of this on the families. I did say to them ‘you have decided to dump this because it’s easier to walk away.’

“My father has always struggled with change, change is not good for lots of residents. If this change affects some residents, it could well be that the stress shortens their lives. It’s terrible.

“I feel so powerless to do anything for my father. I’m disgusted with Four Seasons."

He said he was told about the plans when relatives of residents were called to a meeting at the care home and added: “It’s shocking and horrendous because my father and the other people in there are so vulnerable.

“The home is not being held accountable.

“Nobody at the meeting was happy about what they were being told, these are people’s family and friends."

A spokesman for the care home said the decision has been made following an internal review and consultation with the CQC and City of York Council. They added that families will be supported by the organisation and the council to find alternative care for their loved ones.

Amanda Cunningham, chief operating officer at the organisation, said: "We will work closely with the City of York Council's Social Services team to assist the residents of the Carlton Unit and their families to transfer to suitable alternative placements. We have brought in additional senior clinical support and oversight to ensure the wellbeing of residents during the transition and we will continue to provide care while we allow plenty of time for the most appropriate arrangements to be made.

"Our plan to close the Carlton Unit is based on a combination of factors. We have been concerned that the unit has not been meeting the standards that we expect to provide. A Care Quality Commission inspection report in March rated the home as inadequate and while a more recent inspection, which took place in July, found that care in other units had improved, there was not sufficient progress in the Carlton Unit. These issues have been exacerbated by local difficulties in recruiting and retaining staff with the right level of skills, particularly nurses, which has necessitated a high use of temporary agency staff.

"We take very seriously our responsibilities as a care provider and we recognise that for the people living on Carlton Unit it is their home, so this closure plan has not been decided lightly. Our first consideration has to be the quality of care and day to day experience of our residents and we think closing the unit, rather than see it continue to struggle, is the right thing to do for them.

"Our initial projections are that none of our colleagues will be subject to redundancy measures as a result of the closure of the Carlton Unit, as its employees can be redeployed in the two other care units, Appleton, which is a nursing unit and Bancroft, which is a residential unit for people with dementia. Consolidating into two units will reduce reliance on agency personnel. We are beginning a consultation process with colleagues about this."

Michael Melvin, assistant director of adult social care at City of York Council, said: “Together with TEWV and the CCG, we have been working closely with Four Seasons, the unit’s owner, to support them with their strategies and action plan to manage and improve their unit and the care of their residents.

“We continue to work with the Four Seasons to secure suitable, alternative accommodation for residents and have joined their discussions with residents and their families. Looking ahead, we continue to work with the sector to find additional capacity for this specialised care.”