Relatives plea to councillors not to wipe out day centres for adults with learning disabilities

CARERS and relatives made a late plea for councillors not to wipe out all the borough’s day centres for adults with learning disabilities.
Mary Beck outside the Town Hall prior to the scrutiny meetingMary Beck outside the Town Hall prior to the scrutiny meeting
Mary Beck outside the Town Hall prior to the scrutiny meeting

Most of the buildings — including Addison at Maltby and Oaks in Wath — will be closed down as part of a £4.2 million cuts package.

Rotherham Borough Council insists that allowing service users to set up their own activities will have long-term benefits and a showcase event for possible provision was held this month.

But Mary Beck, whose son has Down’s syndrome and attends Addison, said: “I’m very concerned because he has severe learning disabilities. 

“Most of the provision was for mild to moderate learning disabilities, not severe. He has some autistic tendencies and prefers to keep things exactly as they are. He’s just lost his dad, which devastated him and stopped him talking. 

“I think this will make him go into into his shell and not recover.”

Cabinet members are expected to approve the changes on Monday (21). Two respite centres — Treefields in Wingfield and Quarryhill at Wath — will also be decommissioned and Parkhill in Maltby is likely to follow suit after more consultation.

The Elliot Centre at Herringthorpe and Maple Avenue in Maltby could be moved after a review.

Cllr David Roche, cabinet member for adult social care, said: “We recognise that not everyone will like the changes. 

“We know there will be anxieties and we will do what we can to make the transition as smooth as possible.

“Care is about people, not something done to people. They are the essential ones, not the buildings. Yes, this will mean decommissioning buildings but that not the focus.”

The closures were discussed at a scrutiny meeting at Rotherham Town Hall on Wednesday (16). 

Carer Monica Hudson said: “In consultation, two-thirds of carers wanted things to remain the same or benefit from further investment.”

She requested that a council officer explain the changes directly to service users, saying many with learning disabilities had not been able to understand the report.

Unison convenor Martin Badger said members were worried about where and how staff would work under the revised model.

“We are concerned that there’s no outline on what the new services will be,” he added.

The union collected a petition of 6,569 signatures against shutting Addison and Oaks, which have a combined 200 service users.

RMBC has said that a reduction in staffing “may be inevitable” and redeployment will be considered to avoid redundancies.

Cllr Roche has also given assurance that traditional provision within a building setting will still be available for those with the most complex learning disabilities.

 

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