'Don't upset my dad' plea to council; CITY'S 'LACK OF REGARD FOR VULNERABLE'.

Byline: SIMON DUDMAN

A MAN whose elderly father faces disruption when his care home closes has accused Coventry Council of having a blatant disregard for the vulnerable.

Residents at the soon to close Jack Ball House, Aldermoor Lodge and George Rowley House are being offered places in a new home which will be designed for people suffering from dementia.

But John Bayliss, aged 42, of Allesley, whose 78-year-old father Bill is a resident at George Rowley House, in Thimbler Road, Canley, is disgusted at the move.

Mr Bayliss senior is a former RAF officer, and was deputy head of Sir Henry Parkes School, in Canley, for 27 years.

Mr Bayliss junior said: "It's important that people are made aware of the blatant disregard for vulnerable people by this city's council. These people are elderly and ill and can't fight their own corner.

"Anybody who knows anything about elderly mentally ill patients knows that one of the things that is important is that they are in a settled environment where they feel safe."

The council has implemented the move because the homes don't meet new standards. Some people share bathrooms and bedrooms. Mr Bayliss senior has his own room but shares a bathroom.

"It would not make any difference if my father had his own bathroom as he is unable to bathe himself.

"If they could move all the staff from the house into a new purpose-built home then that would be brilliant. It's the level of care that they get from the staff that is going to suffer.

"You only have to walk into the place and there is a warm glow of love and care to see. You don't get that in the private sector."

In a letter to the council Mr Bayliss junior has urged them to "look beyond the building at the special standard of humanity and care provided by the very special staff". He also believes the council is privatising an essential human right to care by "presenting a smokescreen of bureaucracy".