Dozens of elderly people, including those with dementia, will now have to find somewhere else to live as Derbyshire County Council confirms it will close seven care homes.
Residents at the homes in Sandiacre, West Hallam, Clowne, Tibshelf, Brimington, New Mills and Bakewell will be forced to move out by September 2022.
Derbyshire County Council’s Cabinet will rubber stamp the closures at a meeting next week.
UNISON, which represents carers who will be affected, says no staff should face compulsory redundancy and the priority must now be to redeploy care workers to other suitable roles nearby.
UNISON East Midlands regional organiser Emma Roberts says: “From the very beginning, we have asked Derbyshire County Council to engage with us on this consultation process and assure care workers that their jobs would be safe.
“However, they have avoided those conversations and have kept hardworking carers in the dark.
“This is deep cut to public services in Derbyshire and we fear this is just the beginning, given the ongoing consultation on adult day centres in the county”.
UNISON Derbyshire County branch secretary Jeanette Lloyd says: “Yet again, it’s the most vulnerable in our communities who bear the brunt of council cuts.
“I want to urge any UNISON member who is affected by this decision to get in touch as soon as possible. We will support you every step of the way as you come to terms with the consequences of this decision.”
