CUTS in home care in Alcester will hit the elderly hard, an MEP has warned.

Home care service contracts are due to be changed to larger companies to save money - but current clients are worried they will lose carers they know and trust.

Liz Lynne, MEP for the West Midlands, visited a number of residents from the Jubilee Court sheltered accommodation scheme who will be affected by the cuts.

Resident Margaret McHale, 93, who has lived at Jubilee Court for 15 years and benefited from the home care service since 1980, said she was visited four times a day by carers and could not see what was wrong with the service as it was.

She said residents and careers had all received letters saying the system would change - but Mrs McHale said she did not understand why it was being done.

"I think it's an excellent service and they have got some excellent girls working for them and they are happy with what they are doing and residents are happy with how they do it.

"We don't want a lot of changes and lots of different people coming to care for us. We want a recognisable face coming to our door every day. It's a proper muddle what's going on."

She added: "Fortunately we have Nina Knapman, Susan Juned and Liz Lynne fighting for us."

Speaking after the visit, Liz Lynne, who is co-chair of the European Parliament's Intergroup on Age, said: "Carers develop a very personal relationship with their clients over many years, so not surprisingly local residents are very concerned about the changes, which could lead to them having a different carer every day."

Director of adult, health and community services for Warwickshire County Council, Graeme Betts, explained the reason for the changes were because it was required by law to re-tender the services to make sure users got the best possible value for money - and the existing contracts had to be renewed.

He said: " We undertake regular surveys with people who receive home care and have used this information to improve the services we are able to offer.

"We would like to reassure people no services are being cut and we are working hard to make sure that where we appoint new service providers, people in our care experience minimal disruption and can continue to expect a high standard of care."

Mr Betts added it had consulted the Alcester and Stratford Senior Citizens Action Network (SCAN) groups and had decided to introduce additional home care services through the teams to keep people from going into hospital unnecessarily and help vulnerable people leave hospital as soon as they are ready.

Councillor Susan Juned said: "The population who need care is increasing faster than the funding to care for them. Increasingly, care is only available if needs are critical. Residents are rightly alarmed and this is an issue we cannot afford to ignore. Caring for people at home where they feel safe keeps people out of hospital."