THE leader of Basildon Council has delivered his view on plans to close a private care home in the town, describing it as 'madness'.

Part of the HC-One chain, Ghyll Grove Care Home near Gloucester Park can accommodate 169 residents and cares for a variety of patients including those who need dementia care.

However, it recently received a damning Care Quality Commission report which found that the home 'requires improvement' with the leadership of the care home rated 'inadequate'.

That was enough for HC-One to say they were pulling the plug – though will keep the home open until all the residents have been found new homes and they will not be moved until Covid restrictions are eased.

An HC-One spokesperson said: "We regret to confirm that Ghyll Grove care home will be closing. This decision has not been taken lightly.

"We recognise the changing care needs of the country, including the growing demand for more complex care and dementia care, and we want to best meet these evolving needs by focusing and investing where we can have the greatest impact.

"We have concluded that there are a small number of homes, including Ghyll Grove, where HC-One's operating model, coupled with factors in the local community such as demand for this type of service and the ability to convert existing services to provide more complex care means we have decided to plan to withdraw our services in these areas."

The new prompted Basildon Council leader Gavin Callaghan to comment on social media. He said: "In the middle of a pandemic. Madness." And in a separate post on Facebook, he wrote: "Social care is in chaos in Basildon.

"We now find residents being turfed out of their care homes permanently and forced to flee to nearby care homes. All in the middle of a pandemic affecting the elderly."