Residents at a Radcliffe extra care facility fear “someone will die” after night carer roles were axed earlier this year.

The move was part of planned cuts after a four-week pilot scheme took place last year.

Residents have since expressed their concerns about the impact of this on vulnerable people at Red Bank, an extra care apartment complex on Lowe Road, which is operated by Bury Council.

Similar cuts were made at Falcon and Griffin, another care facility in Bury which is managed by the council.

The move affected residents in more than 100 apartments across the two locations when it was implemented in February.  

Loraine Woodall has lived at Red Bank since 2021 and has Parkinson's disease, which causes tremors, muscle stiffness and impacts her mobility.

When she first moved into the facility, she was offered 24/7 support from in-house carers who were on hand to respond to any emergencies.

But earlier this year, the night time in-house support was cut entirely and replaced by a response service "hub" based at another extra care facility, Peachment Place in Bury, on behalf of the council.  

After a recent fall, she said: “I’m worried that someone will die if nothing is done. 

“I’m usually quite independent and have all my faculties but there are some very vulnerable people in here who desperately need overnight support.

“We’ve [other residents] raised concerns, but nothing is being done. When I first moved in three years ago, there was a good community here and we felt safe and supported.

“Since then, it’s really gone downhill. It feels like they are cutting corners in all the wrong places.”

Another resident, who did not want to be named, told us that they “believe that the rapid response team is not fit for purpose” and expressed concerns around the out of hours system.

They said: “Red Bank is an extra care facility but if you press the red button after 10 at night, you have to be prepared for a very long wait, even after your call being taken…with no-one on site, I believe this is going to result in a death in time.

“This situation is terrifying for the residents who were promised 24-hour on-site care when they moved in."

Another resident agreed, saying that they “desperately need to get the night staff back in".

She said: “It used to be lovely and feel like a safe environment, but I don’t want to stay here anymore.”

In response, a Bury Council spokesperson said: “Caring for our most vulnerable people is always our top priority. During the day (8am to 10pm), a care worker is on-site at our three extra care housing schemes.

“A review of the overnight (10pm to 8am) support, however, revealed that each scheme had different arrangements.

“As a result, changes were made – following full public consultation – to provide a more fair and efficient service. 

“Instead of having one sleep-in staff member at each scheme, we now have waking staff operating from one base, and covering the other two schemes through our Care Link system. 

"This has actually enhanced the service, with staff ready to respond to calls as appropriate, with access to new lifting equipment and trained in its use.

“A third waking night member of staff has been floating where needed across the three schemes while the new arrangements were being introduced.

“The way that people access help now works in the same way across all three schemes. 

"When people press their Care Link pendants during the day, the call will still go through to the onsite staff who will provide support as required.

"When people press their pendants during the night for emergencies, the call will go through to call handlers who will call the waking night staff and/or 999 as required.

“We have recently introduced a new Falls Response Service to ensure that residents can be quickly and safely attended to.

"This will complement our existing Rapid Response Service, which supports 350 people a month who are in urgent need, and is the most responsive service of its type in Greater Manchester.

“We appreciate that change can be difficult for some, and it takes time to get used to.

"We will continue to closely monitor our arrangements to ensure that Bury residents receive the most appropriate care we can provide.”