by political editor Paul Francis

Three old people’s homes are likely to shut and others sold off to private companies under a county council shake-up affecting all but one of its remaining residential care homes.

The plans announced today will mean at least 100 residents will have to be found places in new homes.

Social services chiefs say no final decision is likely to be made until December at the earliest and have promised wide-ranging consultation with residents, their families and staff.

The re-organisation will affect more than 400 staff working in the homes and some redundancies are expected.

Kent County Council, which expects to save £2m a year as a result, insists the proposals will in time deliver better care for elderly people needing round-the-clock care.

It has acknowledged they will cause anxiety and may trigger strong opposition but says private companies are better placed to invest in the homes, many of which need significant redevelopment to up-date their facilities.

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Under its plans, KCC says it intends to close outright three homes: Ladesfield in Whitstable; Sampson Court in Deal and The Limes in Dartford.

At three others, it wants to effectively sell off the homes to the private sector and negotiate an agreement where it can retain rights to places.

They are Blackburn Lodge, Sheerness; Doubleday Lodge, Sheerness and Kiln Court, Faversham.

Three other homes will be replaced with sheltered accommodation schemes, incorporating 24-hour care and some shared services.

They are Bowles Lodge at Hawkhurst; Cornfields at Dover and Manorbrooke at Dartford.

Plans already underway to sell Wayfarers home, in Sandwich, will go ahead and the closure of Lawrence House, in Folkestone, and its replacement with a specialist dementia unit at nearby Broadmeadow is also near completion.

The only home that is unaffected by the proposals is the Dorothy Lucy Centre in Maidstone.

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KCC says a decision about its future will be made later.

Cllr Graham Gibbens (Con), KCC cabinet member for adult care, said KCC wanted the best for elderly people but that it lacked the money needed to bring its care homes up to scratch.

KCC would ensure any deals it struck with private care home companies would commit them to keeping places available for its clients.

"These changes are all about providing real dignity, real quality care and a real quality environment into the future.

"It would not be possible to do that without doing what we are doing," he said.

Many of KCC’s homes were in need of improvements such as adding ensuite bathrooms for all residents, that were potentially costly and could not be afforded, he added.

Cllr Gibbens said: "Doing masses of new work is not an option and if we were to do it, it would not add capacity to the homes."

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