A CRISIS in the private care sector has forced Darlington council to backtrack on plans to close all its residential homes for the elderly.

This week the cabinet agreed to postpone the closure of The Lawns and Westfields House after Darlington Memorial hospital expressed its concern about bed blockages. It was unable to discharge 22 patients this month.

The council homes have also had to cope with displaced residents from the closure of Trees Park and Abbey Lodge.

There has been a reduction of 366 residential and nursing care beds in the private sector, mainly in the last six to ten months.

Mr Colin Morris, director of social services, reported only eight vacant beds available in the borough at the beginning of the month.

"The market is, therefore, almost at saturation point," he stressed.

Three private residential homes had closed because they were making a loss and others looked set to follow.

Keeping The Lawns and Westfields at 90pc capacity from October through the next financial year would cost the council £278,000.

Mr Morris told the D&S Times there was a need to look at a more creative way of providing care for the elderly in partnership with the private sector.

"We know there is an immediate problem, but we are not going to knee-jerk into it."

Talks were being held with housing associations about rehabilitation complexes for elderly people "starting to teeter" on their own, who would be surrounded by support services. Some would be able to return home.

"It would be a halfway house, a middle ground between sheltered accommodation and private care."

Another option being explored with private homes was that they should set up day care centres.

Mrs Maureen Horton, chairman of the Darlington independent sector provider group, has written to the government claiming its systematic underfunding of beds has caused the crisis.

She said the trend of closures would worsen unless the industry received more protected money prior to the increase in the minimum wage in October, which would exacerbate its problems.

Under the banner of Caro Enterprises, four homes have joined with social services and been successful in getting funding for an innovative training package to benefit the whole of the local care sector, private and public. Another partnership bid is being made in conjunction with Darlington college.

"My small company is also looking at the possibility of developing some day care services which will be quite creative, but that is still in its infancy," she said.

Ms Laura Robson, South Durham NHS trust's director of nursing, expressed her gratitude to the local authority for its help in freeing up beds for acutely ill patients