A crisis is looming for private residential homes in York, according to a leading local home owner.

Frank Slater, secretary of the York and District Residential Care Homes Association, said he feared many homes could face closure due to City of York Council policies, saying the authority was "hell bent" on reducing referrals to them.

Mr Slater's warning follows the Evening Press highlighting the problem of elderly patients having to stay in hospital beds although their medical care has ended, because of cuts in the council's budget for nursing home places.

He said owners of residential homes for the elderly were also getting fewer referrals from the council, claiming the authority favoured its own homes.

Mr Slater added that homes for people with mental health problems faced a similar problem because the authority was switching to care in the community.

"There is a crisis looming in our sector. I can't see us going on much longer with the situation because we are just not getting the referrals," he said.

Mr Slater said the home for people with mental health problems which he and his wife Chris run in Heworth Green was facing its own crisis, with four of its 12 places empty.

Community care was good in principle, but in practice he feared vulnerable people may be placed in unsuitable accommodation and lack support.

Bill Hodson, the council's assistant director for community services, said in relation to mental health they had been placing fewer people in residential care year on year. "I think that's a positive thing, because we have done a lot locally to support people either in a tenancy or in their own home," he said, adding they kept in touch with these people.

They had only reduced the number of elderly people referred to residential care this year due to budget restrictions. But council beds had been cut from 380 to 277 since 1996, and he did not apologise for policies helping people to stay in their own homes.

Mr Hodson was worried by the warning that residential homes might close in the city, saying they needed the private sector. He hoped the council would soon be able to tell home owners what its likely needs were to allow forward planning.

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