STAFF at an under-threat care centre have spoken out amid controversial plans to save £12m from the borough’s adult social budget.

Council bosses said in May the short stay care home Spurr House, in Unsworth, would close, while Elmhurst, in Whitefield, would remain.

Elsewhere Pinfold Lane day centre would shut, with Grundy day centre, in Bury, providing extra spaces.

And there are proposals to create an ‘all-age disability service’, councillors have been told.

Short stay care is where customers live up to six weeks at a time, as a break from their normal place of care, to give carers or family members a break from caring or because a person may need some short term support in order to recover.

Spurr House can provide care for up to 36 people at a time and a consultation has been taking place through the year on the plans.

Krisilia O’Neill, a care assistant at Spurr House, said: “If this place closes, it will affect so many people in so many different ways, not just financially.

“In the short-term, it might save some money but in the long term it will hurt so many more people.

“It’s not just about the here-and-now because it will cost more in the future.”

Francine Miller, another care assistant, said: “Care is not about cutting corners. Parents and grandparents rely on us for care and they need these services. They were obviously disheartened by this news and it feels political.”

Another care assistant added: “I think it’s disgusting and I’m absolutely stunned. I feel that we’re being used as a scapegoat, because the council is in trouble and they have to make cuts.

“It’s not fair on people like me because I need to put food on the table and I have friends there who have become like family.”

Cllr Andrea Simpson, cabinet member for health and wellbeing, said: “As a result of reductions in public spending and the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic, we have to reduce our spending significantly.

“Over the next three years, we are making savings of £12m from our current adult social care budget of £52m. It’s not simply about cuts, however.

“Our aim is to keep providing the current level of service, but to find less expensive and better ways of doing this, (by) looking at what care we buy and how, transforming services, and creating an all-ege disability service.”

The proposals will come before the council’s cabinet next Wednesday.