THE VOTE had yet to be given to women when Caroline Goss was born in the 19th century.

Now the resident of a Wheldrake nursing home is in the front line of the Conservative's General Election campaign.

Only days before celebrating her 104th birthday, the lifelong Tory was visited by the party's health spokesman Liam Fox during a visit to the Somerset nursing home, a part of the village for the past 18 years. He was accompanied by Selby's Tory candidate Michael Mitchell.

Mr Fox stopped in the village during a Yorkshire tour aimed at seeing people at the frontline of providing care. He said: "The problem at the moment is there are thousands of care beds lost across the country as a result of funding policies. Many owners have decided to sell up."

He said the funding structure meant that, in some parts of the country, fees paid by local authorities were not enough to make private homes viable.

Closures were resulting in blocked beds in hospitals while elderly people waited for nursing places to become available.

Dr Fox said: "We need to look again at the fee structure and the relationship between local authorities and private homes.

"The Prime Minister only ever mentions hospitals when he talks about health. He has no comprehension of health care outside hospitals."

The current system, which increased social services control over nursing and residential places, was introduced by the Conservatives in 1993.

But Dr Fox said: "What may have been appropriate then may not be now. It all has to be reviewed."

Updated: 16:10 Tuesday, May 22, 2001