Disabled adults face 'devastating' centre closure

Parents and carers of adults with disabilities who attend a day centre in Brighton earmarked for closure say losing the service would be "devastating" for their loved ones.

Brighton and Hove City Council is consulting on plans to close Wellington House day centre to save £400,000, but has pledged not to close the site unless all 21 current users can be relocated to equivalent or better local provision.

But relatives of service users, some of whom have attended Wellington House for decades, say alternative provisions being offered are not adequate.

A public consultation is ongoing until 7 July.

Cathy Cooper's daughter Jennifer, 39, is blind, non-verbal and has complex needs.

She lives in supported accommodation and Cathy said without Wellington House "she'd be spending all day, every day, based in her room, which I don't think is very healthy".

While the council is offering to replace provision, she said "it seems we're still a long way off knowing exactly what they're going to be able to offer".

She added: "The proposed £400,000 saving is just such a small amount in terms of council budgets that it barely seems worth all the fuss.

"And I just can't see how they're going to make that saving if they put together a package that matches what she's got now."

Tony's sister Susan, 60, has attended Wellington House for around 40 years since leaving school.

He said: "It's part of her life. She doesn't know anything else and we tragically lost my mum and dad about four years ago so she lost her house.

"Wellington House is her mainstay, she loves the place."

Tony's wife Tracy said Susan was flat sharing in supported accommodation, but they feared that could break down without the day centre as respite care.

She said: "She needs that break. She needs the staff, all her friends that she's known for years."

Lou Vaughan, whose brother Matt has been going to Wellington House for 10 years, said alternative provision being offered by the council "lacked autistic accreditation".

She said: "It's devastating on many levels - particularly because they've spent years forming relationships and friendships don't come easily to people like my brother.

"Staff have spent many years getting to know all the non-verbal cues of the service users, so they can intervene and de-escalate situations before they arise.

"Our group have had confirmation from four of the six cited providers that they don't have capacity, that they cannot meet the complex needs of our service users."

Their mother Theresa added: "They're not chess pieces. They are people with individual and separate requirements and the staff at Wellington House recognise that and deal with them all as people, not numbers."

In a statement, Brighton and Hove City Council said no final decision would be made until after the end of the 12-week consultation.

It said the council was continuing to hold in-depth discussions with families and carers, staff and the other providers in the city as well as with the parents and carers of young people with learning disabilities who will be needing adult day service provision in the coming years.

It added: "We will only move ahead on re-commissioning provision if we are satisfied that every one of the 21 people who currently attends Wellington House can have their day opportunity needs met locally still with at least the same quality of care."

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