A 96 year old pensioner with dementia is being told she must leave the care home she has lived in for seven years after a council-run sale collapsed just days before Christmas, leaving her family fearing the move could cost her life.
Babette Ogle, 96, has lived at The Leys care home in Ashbourne, Derbyshire, since 2018. Her son Nigel says she is now facing relocation after plans to sell the home to a new provider fell through at the last minute.
Derbyshire County Council had agreed in principle to sell The Leys and seven other care homes as part of plans to remodel adult social care services. But the deal collapsed earlier this week, meaning residents are now expected to be moved and the buildings sold off.
Mr Ogle said the news came “completely out of the blue” just ten days before Christmas, leaving families devastated.
“This will kill her,” he said. “She’s 96, she has dementia, and familiarity is everything. To uproot her now, at any time of year, is unimaginable – but just before Christmas makes it even worse.”
He said families were told to “try and enjoy Christmas” and that further contact would be made in the New Year, despite no timescale being given for when residents must leave.
“How can you enjoy Christmas knowing your mum is going to be forced out of her home?” he said. “A care home isn’t about profit – this is her home.”
The proposals to sell the homes were originally agreed last year under the previous Conservative administration, with the current Reform UK-led council continuing negotiations with a single provider. The council confirmed those negotiations have now failed.
Councillor Joss Barnes, cabinet member for adult care, said he was “devastated” by the outcome and acknowledged the timing was especially upsetting for residents, families and staff. He said support would be offered but added that commercial sensitivities prevented further detail.
Labour MP for Derbyshire Dales John Whitby called on the council to reverse its decision, saying the closure of eight care homes would leave vulnerable residents without vital care and staff facing redundancy just before Christmas.
Trade union Unison said families and workers had endured months of uncertainty and warned that moving elderly residents with dementia risks “irreversible damage”.
Alongside The Leys, other homes affected include Briar Close in Borrowash, Castle Court in Swadlincote, The Grange in Eckington, Lacemaker Court in Long Eaton, New Bassett House in Shirebrook, Rowthorne in Swanwick and Thomas Colledge House in Bolsover.