EVESHAM'S elderly are being forced to move miles from their friends and family as care homes are pushed out of business by a lack of social services cash and bureaucracy.

One former care home owner warns that even if Worcestershire's social services department and the Government come up with more cash so people currently blocking beds in hospitals across the county can move into residential care, there will no longer be enough places to accommodate them.

The problems facing care homes have multiplied in the past 12 months, partly because social services is facing a projected overspend of £4.6 million by the end of this year and is desperately trying to make savings.

More elderly people have to wait in hospital beds despite being assessed as ready to move into care homes, because social services cannot afford to pay for them.

Earlier this month, Worcester Community and Mental Health NHS Trust which runs Evesham and Pershore hospitals revealed there were 49 people ready to be discharged from hospitals.

Janet Eason-Harris closed Woodlands care home in Longdon Hill in August as a last resort after a cut in referrals and increasing red tape made her job of caring for elderly people practically impossible.

She said: "Last December we had a full house and a waiting list but from the beginning of this year it has grown worse. The fees from social services haven't gone up in real terms for 10 years but their assessment criteria has changed and the people we were having referred to us were more dependant.

"With new rules and regulations under the Care Standards Act and the Human Rights Act, what we were expected to do was getting out of hand. It is the same for everyone now. All homes are struggling to keep up with an increasing amount of paperwork."

When Woodlands closed, it had grown from a 10-bedroomed home in 1985 to 32 rooms and Mrs Eason-Harris had permission for a nine-bedroom extension. She prided herself on a personal, homely touch which was undermined by new legislation.

"It used to be a fantastic business which looked after more than 200 people over 15 years and employed 22 staff," she added.

She was not the only one struggling. Care homes are all facing rising costs and difficulties finding staff.

New legislation means staff must have minimum qualifications, rooms must be bigger with en suite baths - so more supervision is necessary and it is a criminal offence not to have enough staff on duty, even if it is unavoidable through sickness.

Mrs Eason-Harris added: "I don't disagree with the new standards, but they are just not affordable. It is making it increasingly impossible for care home owners and staff to actually care for elderly people."

This time last year, she said, there were 150 elderly care beds in Evesham - now there are 60 after the closure of three private homes, including Woodlands, in the past year. When she closed Woodlands, only one resident was able to find a place in the town.

She added: "The financial crisis is not the only one facing local and national government. Should money become available they will find there are not enough beds for our elderly, as many of the home owners will have decided enough is enough and put their property to other use by then.

"Care of the elderly in its present form is totally unaffordable and over the next 20 years I can see a return to the old style hospital wards as the places for our old ones to live as many of them are doing now."