Lancashire care staff ‘ready to strike’ says union leader

Lancashire care staff are ready to strike if any of the county’s under-threat homes and day centres are earmarked for closure, a union leader has warned.

UNISON General Secretary elect Andrea Egan was speaking at a rally in Preston on Saturday staged in defence of five care homes and five daycare services whose futures are in doubt.     

Lancashire County Council, which operates the premises – in Chorley, Fylde, Hyndburn, Lancaster, Pendle, Rossendale, West Lancashire and Wyre – placed them under review in October after the buildings were deemed to be in “significantly poor condition”.  

The Reform UK-run authority recently delayed making a final decision – which had been due next month – over what to do with the properties, so that it could take more time to consider the 1,600 responses received during a public consultation late last year.

However, Ms. Egan told the hundreds-strong crowd who gathered on the Flag Market – and also processed through the city – that the move was not good enough. 

“Lancashire County Council, this is your notice – you may have delayed this process, but if you think [that is] satisfactory in itself, you are insulting these workers.  We don’t want delays, we demand answers.  

“We want a guarantee that these closures are off the table – and we want it now.   Let me tell you, if any resident is forced to move, our members are ready to strike.

“There’s only one group of people who stand to benefit when it comes to cuts and closure in social care – and it’s not…the residents, it’s the people who own these private care companies,” the recently-elected union boss said.

Andrea Egan also criticised the “years of underinvestment [in public services] under every political administration in the last 30 years”.

The ruling Reform group has repeatedly criticised opposition parties for what it claims is deliberate scaremongering over the review process.   

Last week, county council leader Stephen Atkinson said the fact that the estimated £4m in cost savings that would come from closing the care facilities had not been included in the authority’s draft budget for 2026/27 proved that the consultation with the public was genuine – and was about the current state of the buildings, not money alone.    

As well as being addressed by politicians from the main Progressive Lancashire opposition alliance – of independents and the Green Party – and the county Labour group, Saturday’s gathering heard directly from the families of care home residents.

Julie Lindley assumed the voice of her 94-year-old mother, Annie, a resident of Grove House in Adlington, who suffers from dementia and has mobility issues.  

“I came to Grove House two years ago, upset and confused, but I soon settled in and made lots of new friends .  Some days I remember their names and some days I don’t, but who cares?  We are all in the same boat together.

“It feels safe…and happy here.  The ladies and gentlemen that look after me are exceptionally warm, caring and kind. 

“My family took everything I needed into account when they decided to choose Grove House for me. I need a safe, controlled environment that offers me stability, understanding and dignity.  

“I have heard that moving me at my age…could cause me transfer trauma, [meaning] I would be back how I first felt when I arrived [here] – confused, distressed and learning to live without my independence.  Forcing to me to move against my will is not a choice, it’s a human rights issue.    Use the land available [alongside the Adlington site and several others] to explore alternatives to closure. 

“We are your grannies, grandads, uncles and aunts – born and raised within the local area. We fought in wars and lived through hardship to have freedom of speech. 

“I am Annie – hear my voice,” Julie concluded.

Meanwhile, County Hall’s Labour group leader, Mark Clifford, read a statement on behalf of someone whose parents are living in Milbanke care home in Kirkham   They became residents within three months of each other, having both arrived straight from a stay in hospital. .

“As soon as I set foot in Milbanke, I knew it was a place of love and safety. Staff [there] care beautifully for my parents. 

“Not only are staff like family to my parents, [they] also care for me and have become part of my family, too.

“The review must be scrapped and an investment plan put in place for Milbanke. Lancashire County Council cannot separate my parents after 60 years of marriage – Milbanke must stay open,” the unnamed individual wrote.

In a statement issued to the Local Democracy Reporting Service in advance of the rally – in response to a request for comment on the fact that it was taking place – County Cllr Atkinson said:  “We are still reading through all the responses we received during the consultation period – and we really value the time and effort that people put in to sharing their experiences in letters and emails.

“As well as the consultation responses, we also still need to consider the findings of new surveys that have been commissioned at the homes that are part of this consultation.

“We want to make it clear that no decisions have been made about the future of any of these homes.”

The surveys are assessments of the current condition of each of the premises, which are being carried out after it emerged that it is five years since the last such work was undertaken.

Azhar Ali, leader of the Progressive Lancashire group, claimed Reform had been “shocked by the level of opposition they have met”, adding:  “All we are asking is that they give a clear commitment – no closures, no privatisation and no job losses”.

No new date has yet been set for a decision on the future of the facilities, which are the care homes Favordale (Colne), Grove House (Adlington), Milbanke (Kirkham), Thornton House (Thornton Cleveleys) and Woodlands (Clayton-le-Moors) and the day centres Byron View (Colne, attached to Favordale), Derby Centre (Ormskirk), Milbanke Day Centre (Kirkham, attached to Milbanke care home), Teal House, (Thornton Cleveleys, attached to Thornton House) and Vale View (Lancaster).

Byron View and Teal House are already subject to what was intended to be a temporary closure imposed at the onset of the pandemic, but have never since reopened.