Parents and carers have voiced their fears over proposed changes to overnight residential respite services in Southampton.
The city council has been carrying out a consultation in recent weeks which has sparked questions, concerns and opposition.
The consultation is focused on respite provision for adults with learning disabilities in Southampton.
Residents filled the public gallery at this month’s health overview and scrutiny panel meeting to put their views directly to councillors and senior officers.
Days later, a protest was held outside one of the respite centres which could close.
There are currently three centres providing overnight respite care in the city:
- Kentish Road in Shirley, which is a four-bed unit with one emergency bed, is directly provided by the council.
- Weston Court in Weston, which is a three-bed unit, is managed by private provider Way Ahead Leisure Pursuits Ltd
- Rose Road Association in Aldermoor is run by a charity
Two options are proposed in the consultation, which closed on December 16.
One would see the majority of overnight respite delivered at Kentish Road, with Rose Road’s provision remaining focused on those with more complex needs and Weston Court no longer providing a service.
The other would see both Kentish Road and Weston Court run by the council, with Rose Road continuing to focus on those with more complex needs.
At the scrutiny panel meeting last month, one carer said the word consultation “fills me with horror”.
“It is not easy for carers to go through this,” she said.
“It affects the individual that we care for. It puts an awful strain on our caring role.”
Another carer said they had not seen any evidence it would be any cheaper for the council to run both centres.
The council was accused of “warehousing” those who use respite services under the option that would see Weston Court close.
A carer at the meeting asked: “Why remove a service that is actually meeting a lot of needs that are not met anywhere else and is already up and running and working extremely well?”
Cabinet member for adults and health Cllr Marie Finn said she would be really surprised if the consultation response did not show a strong preference for the option to use both Kentish Road and Weston Court.
She said this was her preference, adding that having one main respite centre was “risky”.
Cllr Finn said no decision had been made and all of the consultation feedback would be taken into account.
Robert Henderson, director of adult social services, said there would be no reduction in the service.
After analysing the feedback, a recommendation would be put to cabinet in late January.
“We want to do what is best in terms of quality and best value,” Mr Henderson said.
“There is no ideology that the council is a better provider, there is absolutely not.
“This is about getting the best value practice-wise and cost-wise from providers.”
In a statement to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Cllr Finn said residential overnight care remained an important part of the council’s offer but change needed to be made to support people “in the most cost-effective way and meet increasing need while maintaining quality”.
She said: “This is part of a wider transformation that we are undertaking of our respite offer, which is aimed at broadening the range of options available in Southampton.
“We will be going out to procurement later this autumn to commission a wider range of respite services, including more outreach and non-residential overnight respite.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel