TOO many elderly people are being put into permanent care home places, Oxfordshire County Council has claimed. The authority has revealed it does not expect to hit targets it has set itself for the maximum number of care home placements made for 2013/14.

It had wanted to place a maximum of 400 people in homes instead using other less costly services which provide independence. But 311 people have already been placed in care homes, and with more than four months to go until the end of the financial year, the target looks out of reach.

County council spokesman Martin Crabtree said: “Oxfordshire is relatively low in its use of care homes for permanent placements. The average for similar councils last year was 750, but in Oxfordshire only 582 were admitted into permanent placements.

“We still believe, however, that this is too high. We still want to reduce the number of people who are admitted to care homes. “Being admitted to a home means that people lose their independence and day-to-day control over their lives.

“To this end we set ourselves a local target of 400 admissions per year. The reason we have not been able to achieve this target is due to an increase in demand.”

For Denise Cartwright, the decision to buy a flat in the Singletree sheltered complex in Rose Hill for her mum Glynis Parsons, 83, could not have been clearer.

Mrs Cartwright, 53, said: “It is much better than a care home. She gets her carers coming in four times a day but other than that she is completely independent.

“Independence does help people stay active and healthy later in life and I think that’s very important.”

Mr Crabtree said more people had come forward needing care this year, with higher levels of need than in previous years. He said: “People are living longer with more complex conditions that require both ongoing medical care as well as social care.

“We are working closely with our partners in the NHS to try to secure better outcomes for people – in other words, supporting people to live at home.”

Age UK Oxfordshire chief executive Paul Cann said: “I don’t think we should be dead against care homes, but what we do need to do is support what Oxfordshire is trying to do to help people live at home for longer.”

He said home care and new technology to support and monitor people in their own homes should be used more, and day centres which allow people to stay active later in life should be invested in.