SNP councillors in Musselburgh have launched a petition in a bid to ensure that the town continues to have a council-owned residential care home for the elderly.

The campaign follows a move by East Lothian Health and Social Care Partnership to consult on plans to replace Eskgreen care home with ‘extra care’ housing only.

Musselburgh SNP councillors Stuart Currie and John Williamson say this will mean “a complete reliance” on the private sector and no council-owned residential care home for “East Lothian’s biggest town”.

Mr Currie, SNP Group leader on East Lothian Council, said: “These proposals are just not acceptable.

“There needs to be a mix of care options in Musselburgh as one size never fits all.

“It is madness to put all our eggs in one basket by not replacing Eskgreen with another council-owned care home in our town.

“Extra care housing will not suit everyone and I do not want to have our residential care privatised in this way. Either the council invests in Eskgreen or provides a residential care home alternative at the former Tesco site that is owned for that purpose.

“Whilst the health and social care partnership is consulting, this is a council-owned facility and only the council can decide its future.”

He added: “I am calling on all Musselburgh councillors and people in the town to support where we live and sign the petition. It is time to put Musselburgh residents first.”

Irene Tait, chairwoman of Musselburgh and Inveresk Community Council, said Eskgreen, on Shorthope Street, should be upgraded.

She said: “We do need a care home in Musselburgh.

“Eskgreen has a lovely outlook and is in a prominent position in the centre of town.

“Musselburgh is the biggest town in East Lothian and it’s dreadful that it has taken so long to get something organised.”

The lack of progress on providing a new care home for the elderly on the former Tesco site at Inveresk Road has also been raised at community council meetings.

David Small, director of health and social care at East Lothian Council, said: “We have been engaging with people in Musselburgh on what older people’s health and social care should look like in the future and our Musselburgh Area Health and Social Care Forum was really interested in hearing about extra care housing.

“Many authorities across the UK, and, more importantly, service-users and carers, are embracing extra care housing as the way forward. In fact, some other Scottish local authorities have reprovided care homes into extra care housing, for example Midlothian and Scottish Borders.

“We are just about to begin an intensive month-long engagement in mid-April with the wider communities in Dunbar, North Berwick and Musselburgh on extra care housing and what to do with council and NHS provision that does not meet modern standards.

“I hope people will take the time to find out about our positive vision for the future of older people’s health and social care through engaging with us. This will give people lots of information to work with and a really great opportunity to engage with us side by side.”

The consultation exercise examines the future of the care home, as well as Dunbar’s Belhaven Community Hospital and North Berwick’s Edington Community Hospital and The Abbey care home, with all services offered at the four facilities potentially being provided elsewhere.

According to the draft proposals, NHS community beds, nursing home care, residential care and residential respite could all be included within extra care housing. The report added that this could take many different forms including very sheltered housing, housing with care, retirement communities or ‘villages.’ It is proposed that in the three towns affected there would be extra care housing developments of 60 to 70 units.

The councillors’ petition can be found at: change.org/p/east-lothian-council-a-council-owned-care-home-for-musselburgh