Disability charity Leonard Cheshire has come under fire over its plans to sell 17 of its care homes.
Neil Heslop, Leonard Cheshire’s chief executive, announced soon after taking up his role in 2016 that he planned to review the viability of 20 of the charity’s “poorest performing” care homes.
Three of those have now closed, the latest one being Greathouse home near Chippenham in Wiltshire which closed this summer.
And last month the charity announced the remaining 17 were up for sale, which would leave it with 87 registered care homes.
The closures come as part of the charity’s plans to treble the number of people it supports by 2020 from 30,000 a year to 90,000.
In May, fellow disability charity Scope completed the sale of all 38 of its care homes to a private provider Ambito Care and Education.
Leonard Cheshire has insisted that is does not plan to follow suit and that residential care “will remain a key part” of its activities in the long term.
However, the Guardian has reported some discontent from the charity's stakeholders.
Anne Keat, who is concerned about how her son will adapt to his new care home in Chippenham, said: “I just don’t understand what they are doing. Leonard Cheshire must be turning in his grave.”
Meanwhile, many of the 17 homes have seen protests from locals since their impending sales were announced.
And this month a petition was lauched called "Stop sale by Leonard Cheshire Foundation of 17 care homes", although this was rejected by the government on the grounds that it was a decision for the charity.
The Guardian quotes Heslop as saying in response: “We think, as an organisation, we have a moral obligation to do more to reach more people and make a bigger difference.”
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