HEALTH Minister, Simon Hamilton will meet with Erne North councillor, David Mahon this week to discuss the Western Trust's recommendation to close Creamery House in Kesh.

The closure of the residential care facility for elderly people with disabilities was included in the Trust's £13 million savings plan for 2015/16.

At the beginning of this month, following a public consultation, the Trust recommended that it proceed with closure plans, relocating residents to other accommodation and redeploying staff to alternative positions within the Trusts.

The decision comes in spite of 10 written responses, 2,350 postcards and 1,195 signatures all opposing the closure.

Furthermore, the Trust acknowledged in its Consultation Feedback Report that "the majority of the responses sought to keep Creamery House open".

The Trust approached Mencap to provide independent advocacy for the residents of Creamery House during the consultation period.

The organisation provided a written submission to the Trust based on its engagement with the residents.

It stated: "A number of residents talked about wanting to stay with their friends and were observed demonstrating clear concern for each other's welfare. Some residents were upset and distressed by the proposal; one was concerned about key aspects of their life if they moved to a new facility."

During this month's Policy and Resources committee meeting, Fermanagh and Omagh District councillor, David Mahon, questioned what was the point in the Trust conducting a 12-week consultation, only to go against the overall majority of its respondents in the end.

"It really makes no sense whatsoever," he said.

He proposed that the Council write to the Trust and the Minister for Health outlining its frustration at the decision.

He asked too, that the Minister and or the Trust postpone the decision until the complete review and reorganization of Health and Social Care, which was recently announced by the Health Minister, is complete.

His proposal was seconded by fellow Erne North councillor, Raymond Farrell.

Mr. Mahon has requested a personal meeting with the Health Minister to discuss the issue.

"I can confirm this has been accepted and will happen in the next few days," he said, "The residents of Creamery House deserve to make the choice, no one else should have this privilege. This has been their home for many years and it is unacceptable that they could now be evicted due to cost saving measures.

"I intend to be the voice of concern for the residents, their families, friends and all the people who responded to the consultation in support of the Creamery House facility to the Minister and will make it very clear that this decision must be reversed."

Mr. Farrell said the issue now fell to a question of equality for the residents of Creamery House.

"I am appealing to the Health Minister to intervene in this and as happened in 2013 under previous Health Minister Edwin Poots, when he stated at that time when various other elderly care homes were under threat from closure, that those residents would spend their remaining days in those homes under no threat of closure. I appeal for equality for the residents of Creamery House.

"I was very happy to second the proposal by Councillor David Mahon in the council that no major decisions concerning the closure of any facility should happen when we are going through a major review of service provision at this time. That makes very good sense and I hope the Minister will consider this very carefully."

Meanwhile, The Southwest Carers Forum is asking all those with a family member with learning disabilities, older people's organisations and the general public to call on the Health Minister and the Health and Social Care Board (HSCB) not to approve the decision

"These residents are aged from 60 to 80 but their care continues to be managed by the Adult Disability Directorate in the Trust rather than by the Older Persons Directorate," said a spokesperson.

"As a result, the principle established in 2013 and which underpinned assurances that older persons currently resident within statutory care homes should be able to stay in their homes as long as their care needs were met appears to have been ignored by the Board of the Western Trust when it came to its responsibility to protect its most vulnerable people.

"The inference must be that older people with a learning disability some of whom have lived in this home for 20 years, who see each other and the current staff of the home as their family, who have strong links with the local community, whose families want them to stay and who are clearly stressed and upset at talk of a move do not get the equality of opportunity afforded to others to stay in what is now their home.

"We understand that the proposal to close Creamery House appeared first in a 2015 - 2016 savings plan in April 2015 as one of a number of proposals designed to reduce Trust costs. One of the reasons given was that there was a recurring overspend due to 4 out of 11 places being vacant. It is not clear whether key workers were actually permitted by the Trust to offer Creamery House as a choice to families seeking accommodation for their family member. "What is clear is that Learning Disability is under severe pressure from the corporate team to cut costs in order to contribute to reduction of the WHSCT's deficit.

"While efficient management of financial resources for learning disability in the West is important to all families trying to plan future accommodation for their family member, it will give grave concern for all of us that the lives of these elderly people and their families should suffer disruption in this way. As time passes, eventually their needs as individuals will need to be re-assessed and a move to more suitable accommodation arranged if necessary and if available. But no older person should have to move out of their home until they have to."