BOLTON could face a crisis in elderly care this winter with nursing homes being forced to close, it has been claimed.

An organisation says the council will not receive enough money to pay extra cash to the homes, which are struggling to survive.

The Government announced last week that it was giving local authorities £300m over two years to help get more elderly people into homes, freeing hospital beds.

But Bolton has not been named as one of the 50 "priority areas", and the Registered Nursing Home Association (RNHA) claims this could lead to some centres going out of business.

However, town hall chiefs have welcomed news they are to receive £433,000 this year and said there will not be a crisis.

RNHA's chief executive officer, Frank Ursell, said that staff dealt with tens of thousands more patients than the NHS, but were not receiving enough financial help.

He added: "Rising costs and falling income mean that dozens of homes are going out of business every week because they cannot afford to continue.

"If it carries on, we shall soon reach a situation where there is a dire shortage of places for older people, even if the money is available."

But Mike Cooney, director of health and care integration at the town hall, disagreed with the views of the RNHA.

He welcomed the cash the Government had given them and said Bolton was coping with the demand for care home vacancies, unlike some in the south of the country.

He added: "We are working very closely with our partners in the independent sector to ensure we maintain an adequate supply of residential care accommodation here in Bolton.

"But we are not complacent and will continue to monitor the situation."

The idea behind the grants from the Government is to try to free-up hospital beds.

It is hoped elderly patients will move more quickly from the Royal Bolton Hospital to residential and nursing homes after they have been treated.

At the moment, more than 1,000 people are staying in residential and nursing homes in Bolton.