Madam, I write to emphasise the plight of the residents at Kingswood Hall, who seem set to become pawns in yet another residential care home closure battle.

People who make the step to give up their real home and move to a care facility, such as Kingswood Hall, are entitled to think it will be for the rest of their lives. They do not imagine they will be uprooted again, still less that it would be as a result of strategic decision by those whom they help to elect.

The decision by South Shrop-shire Housing Association has been brought about by a lack of joined-up thinking. In a county with a rapidly ageing population, care of the elderly will require more resources, not less.

Unfortunately, in terms of socially funded beds, the replacement for the Kington Cottage Hospital provides fewer beds, not more. This can only lead to more bed blocking, which we are told is the cause of many of the problems of the NHS. Further, with the loss of Kingswood Hall, where will our elderly relatives live out their days, once the new health facility is full?

Can I encourage decision makers to concentrate on the real issue - long-term capacity to care for the county's elderly and not a short-term focus on individual department budgets, no matter how pressing.

Dick Funnell, Chairman, Kingswood Hall Residents and Relatives Association, Laburnum Cottage, Floodgates, Kington.