17 April 2012 Last updated at 08:46 ET

Swindon relief care service to go private

A relief care service run by a Swindon charity is being transferred to a private provider.

The service, which supports about 65 clients, is run by the Swindon Carers Centre and is due to be transferred to Bluebird Care by the end of June.

Two members of staff, who work in management and scheduling, face redundancy.

Bluebird Care will take on the remaining 11 full-time and about 10 temporary staff.

Diana Finch, CEO of the centre, said the charity had lost about 30% of its funding from Swindon Borough Council and the NHS over the past two years, and had also seen other grants come to an end.

She said it had been "a very difficult decision" to transfer the service.

"We are certain that for both the clients of the relief care service and for our care staff, this is the best possible solution," she said.

"The alternative was financial instability and the risk of the service disintegrating.

"This way, for our vulnerable clients, the only change they should notice will be a change in the uniform of their care worker."