More than 3,000 people have signed a petition opposing the proposed closure of the Wellington House day centre, in Brighton.
Cathy Cooper, whose daughter uses the day centre, presented the petition at a Brighton and Hove City Council meeting yesterday (Thursday 26 March).
The council wants to close Wellington House to save £400,000 but Mrs Cooper warned that it would be a false economy, costing the council more than it would save.
Parents and carers fear that, without the respite they have thanks to the day centre, some would no longer be able to cope with the demands of looking after their loved ones.
Instead, the council would be required to fund round-the-clock care that, even just for a few people, could far outweigh the £400,000 saving.
At Hove Town Hall yesterday, Mrs Cooper told councillors that many felt as though the decision to close the day centre had already been made before the budget vote last month.
Families have been promised a 12-week consultation, starting next month, after the budget vote to save £400,000 by closing the day centre, in Wellington Street, Brighton.
Conservative councillor Carol Theobald said that the proposal came 10 years after Labour justified the closure of the Belgrave Day Centre, in Portslade, by saying that care would be provided at Wellington House instead.
Councillor Theobald, who serves as the president of Mencap Brighton and Hove, said that she had heard from concerned families at her ward surgeries.
She said: “If the council closes Wellington House, this will result in families losing their respite time – and some may have to place their family member in the care of the local authority.
“In the families’ view, private providers would not be able to provide the same level of service and it could be more expensive.”
Mrs Cooper said that those attending the day centre had severe learning difficulties, autism, sensory issues and epilepsy, with many unable to speak.
She said: “Wellington House staff have the expertise and experience to safely deliver a service that provides enrichment and social opportunities to this vulnerable group.
“The staff are specialists in de-escalation and safety. They cannot easily be replaced. In our experience, independent providers are unable or unwilling to take on this level of care.”
Labour councillor Mitchie Alexander, the council’s cabinet member for communities, equalities, public health and adult social care, said that she understood the process was “unsettling” for parents, carers and day centre users.
Councillor Alexander said that the consultation and impact assessments could not begin until the budget had been passed.
She said: “A decision has not yet been made and will only be made after the full consultation has been completed.
“We, as a local authority, are 100 per cent confident that there are places in the city and each for every one of the 21 adults who currently go to Wellington House.”
Mrs Cooper said that others were due to leave full-time education in a few months’ time and they might have been expected to receive day care at Wellington House.
Councillor Alexander said that independent providers could and did provide the services highlighted in the petition.
Green councillor Raphael Hill said: “Even if, on paper, the independent sector can provide the same quality of care, you can’t replicate long-term relationships that have managed to build trust and that sense of being a second family over time.
“Human relationships don’t work like that. Let’s not forget also that there are current service users who will not understand this proposal.”
Brighton and Hove Independent councillor Mark Earthey received applause from the public gallery when he said that he had no faith in the independent sector providing the necessary care.
He said: “They wouldn’t be willing or able – and if they were, the costs would be absolutely astronomical.
“It’s a cut by any other means. Can we keep it and stop eroding the fabric of social care in our society?”
Councillor Alexander said that the community and voluntary sector were surprised that it had taken so long to redesign commissioning for people with learning disabilities, 180 of whom attend day services with other providers.
One petition supporter seemed surprised to hear this and said outside the meeting that other providers mainly catered for people with less complex needs.
Councillors voted unanimously to note the petition.