ELDERLY residents could be budged out of their BUPA care home to make way for a homeless community care unit run by Ipswich Primary Care Trust.Like a game of dominoes the community unit, based at Ipswich Hospital is being nudged out by the new specialist gynaecological cancer unit.

ELDERLY residents could be budged out of their BUPA care home to make way for a homeless community care unit run by Ipswich Primary Care Trust.

Like a game of dominoes the community unit, based at Ipswich Hospital is being nudged out by the new specialist gynaecological cancer unit.

Because the new £4.2million Ravenswood Intermediary Care Unit intended for their care is not yet finished the patients have nowhere else to go and so Ipswich Primary Care Trust could be teaming up with BUPA to house them in part of Monmouth Court in Maidenhall.

Although no contracts have yet been signed Monmouth Court is the preferred option.

But it means the 25 residents, some recovering from illnesses such as stroke, who are settled in their rooms now have to move somewhere else.

Depending on their financial status some residents pay for all or some of their care - others who have capital less than £12,000 are paid for by the state.

The community unit, run by Ipswich Primary Care Trust and does not belong to the hospital, is there for people who are no longer sick enough to need acute care, but are not well enough to go home or need extra support.

No-one from the community unit will be made to pay anything towards their care as they are all their for health reason and the care will be provided by the PCT.

A relative of one resident who lives in a different house and does not have to be moved claims that both residents and staff were devastated at the news.

He did not want to be named but he said he felt so strongly about the matter that it needed to be highlighted.

The relative said: "It will be devastating for the people who have to move - they know all the staff and the staff know all their needs."

But Oliver Thomas, regional director of BUPA care homes said that everything was being done to offer those residents identical accommodation elsewhere.

He said: "There are currently 25 care home residents living in the unit who will be offered identical accommodation in another part of the home if that is appropriate for their needs.

"They will also be given the option of moving to alternative BUPA homes in Ipswich if this is more appropriate for them.

"The wellbeing of our residents is my first priority and we will work closely with everyone concerned to ensure the moves go as smoothly as possible."

Jan Rowsell, spokeswoman for Ipswich Primary Care Trust said: "There has been much careful discussion with BUPA to develop a new partnership between the local NHS and Social Care to see if it is possible to use one of their facilities in Ipswich as the temporary new home for the community unit for the next 14 months or so.

"The intermediate care service will be run and staffed by current NHS staff who will be transferred with their patients.

"This is planned for December. It will also offer a more appropriate setting for people who are waiting at Ipswich Hospital for a transfer of care."

n. Do you have a relative who could be affected by the move? What do you think? Write to Your Letters at Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich IP4 1AN.