A CARING daughter has warned a big hole will be left in the life of her 97-year-old mother if a charity pulls its home care service at the end of the month.

Trixie Harmer is urging the Alzheimer’s Society to rethink plans to close the service, warning vulnerable elderly people will lose a vital lifeline.

The charity said the scheme for home visits was no longer sustainable because of the loss of funding over recent years and that up to 19 jobs could be at risk.

Mrs Harmer, of Lenham Avenue, Saltdean, said she had relied on the support of the charity’s home visits for 17 years – first for her father Victor Selwyn and now for her mother Irene.

She said offers of support from the charity to find alternative providers and suitable services were unlikely to be able to replace the priceless service.

She told The Argus: “It is a real lifeline and something she really looks forward to.

“The Alzheimer’s Society has a singing club and that really makes her day.

“They say that people with dementia forget things but can still remember all the words to all the songs.

“She has someone come to collect her at the moment but I don’t know if that will continue.

“I have had carers come visit the house for 17 years. They become part of the family.

“They know everything about mum and they will leave a big hole if they go.

“It is just not my mum. I think about all those other people, some who might be living on their own, and how they will lose their lifeline.

“It is a fantastic service sitting in with people with dementia or taking them out for up to three hours at a time.

“That is three hours of respite for that person’s carer.”

A consultation of service users across the county runs until June 26.

The Alzheimer’s Society said 19 staff members were affected but bosses were “working hard” to help find alternative jobs within the charity.

Regional operations manager Chris Wyatt said: “Over the last couple of years Alzheimer’s Society has kept this service going while we tried to make it financially sustainable but unfortunately we haven’t been able to find a long-term solution.

“People with dementia have benefited greatly from this service for many years and we will do our best to support them along with our dedicated staff during this difficult time.”

A West Sussex County Council spokeswoman said: “While we used to provide grant funding for a home respite service, this ended in 2014.

“This decision was taken because the service only covered part of West Sussex and we wanted to ensure there was equity across the council for this type of service.”

A Brighton and Hove City Council spokeswoman said: “We don’t fund the Alzheimer’s Society but we do purchase some services from them.

“We are continuing to purchase services from them but they are scaling back some of their operations.”