ISUPPORT the campaign for the retention of the county council-run old peoples' homes in East Lancashire.

Since moving to the area some 15 years ago, and having worked in general medical practice here for 12 years, as well as in care of the elderly and psychiatry in hospital, I realise that the homes which stand out as the best in terms of quality of staffing, appropriate design, and respect for residents' choice and autonomy, are the council-run ones.

In fact, I have long joked that I already have my name down for Favordales in Colne!

For the old people living in these homes, the disruption to their lives and the fear of this imminent disruption will be hard to bear.

They have, after all, chosen to live there and adopted them and feel them to be their homes.

The residents have formed friendships with each other and with the staff and it would be hard to maintain these kinship groups with disruptive moves.

If elderly people choose to live alone in their own homes, then they should be supported and enabled to do so, but some suffer terrible loneliness there after the death of their partners or due to increasing infirmity and poor mobility and prefer a social life, and want to live in a group home that is lively and communal.

The day-care facilities at Favordale are also outstanding and have earned almost universal praise from attenders and families alike.

Patients of mine who go there for respite care, with trepidation the first time, usually look forward eagerly to their next stay, and even opt themselves to apply for a permanent place.

From my evening, night and week-end on-call work experience I recognise the same quality of care and services at Cravenside, Pendlebrook and other local authority homes. It would be a sacrilege to close and lose these centres of excellence.

These outstanding old people's homes are part of our common social heritage and remind us of a time when good public services were valued, respected, and a source of pride, not thought of as second-rate to private facilities.

My own experience of the private sector in health and social care is that although the curtains may be more chintzy, the quality of care is often poorer, and we should think very carefully before selling off the county's commonwealth to the highest bidder.

If the elderly have to leave these homes for other private homes, they will find a few still open, as so many have recently closed, due to escalating costs and increasingly-stringent rules and regulations, including Marnie and Standroyd House, with Calderglen and Holly House in Brierfield now on the market too.

While there may be excellent and laudable reasons for introducing regulations about adequate space for residents, to reduce overcrowding and fire danger and to allow an increase in privacy, these should surely be phased in gradually and balanced against the social, emotional and psychological consequences to the residents.

It is well-known that the population as a whole is ageing and that we will therefore need more, not less, provision of appropriate accommodation for the elderly.

As I get older I start to take these issues more seriously and, judging by the age of some of our county councillors, I think perhaps, that they should too!

CAROLINE PALMER (Dr), Colne Health Centre, Market Street, Colne.