IN response to the letter concerning Clarendon Court (June 9), it may be helpful to clarify a few points.

City of York Council and Selby and York Primary Care Trust are committed to reducing the number of delayed transfers of care at York Hospital.

To reduce these numbers, the city needs more intermediate care beds.

These can serve either as a place where people can either leave hospital and continue their recovery and therapy, or as a "step up facility" to stop a person who needs support from going into hospital.

Local and national experience (a small, successful scheme is already running at Grove House in York) shows intermediate care significantly increases people's chances of returning home to independent living.

The funding made available was for conversion of an existing property, and the idea of using an elderly people's home was rejected because there is a shortage of residential beds in the city.

Clarendon Court was chosen because of its excellent location and because there is little demand for places, compared with other, more modern, sheltered schemes.

The conversion of Clarendon Court will be undertaken by Selby and York NHS Primary Care Trust and should be up and running next year.

Thirteen tenants are now living in Clarendon Court and every effort will be made to ensure they move to the place of their choice and are given all the help and support they need.

Heather Rice,

Director of health and social care, Selby and York Primary Care Trust, Monkgate, York.

Bill Hodson,

Senior assistant director,

Community Services,

City of York Council,

George Hudson Street, York.

Updated: 11:18 Thursday, June 19, 2003