PLANS HAVE RESIDENTS’ BEST INTERESTS AT HEART

Geoffrey Alderman should not have acted in haste without consultation ( Care needed on rushed move, January 18). His intervention is playing games with the lives of residents and staff of the Morris Feinmann Home, yet is based on gossip from “an acquaintance”. He admits that he has not even visited the home.

When he claims “no consultation”, he should be aware that since the announcement, at the start of December, of a unique opportunity to preserve Jewish care for our existing residents while creating a long term, brand new, state-of-the-art Jewish MFH Belong village, there have been two months of consultation resulting in all but one resident agreeing to transfer en masse to Allingham House. The transfer ensures the continuation of Jewish care in south Manchester and the employment of our staff, who will continue to care for our residents at Allingham House. It also allows at least 12 months’ consultation on the new Jewish home development.

His comments, which wrongly suggest that care should continue in the existing old Victorian building, are totally unfounded and not supported by the majority of the community and its spiritual leaders.

It is also disturbing that when Mr Alderman phoned me a few weeks ago to say he was considering an article, I told him that consultations with residents and staff were at an advanced and delicate stage and that it was no time to play mischievously with people’s lives. He should understand that if the opportunity to transfer residents and staff to Allingham House is lost because he puts doubt in people’s minds, the result would be that the existing home would be forced to close in a short period of time on economic grounds, resulting in a void of residential and nursing care for the Jewish elderly of south Manchester. Alan Wilkins Chair of Trustees, Morris Feinmann Homes Trust Gorsey Lane, Altrincham, WA14