Posted: Mon 27th Jan 2020

Updated: Wed 26th Feb

Closure of day centres would be “devastating” say campaigners

North Wales news and information
This article is old - Published: Monday, Jan 27th, 2020

The closure of established day centres for adults with learning disabilities would be “disastrous” for the communities they serve, it has been claimed.
Monday saw Anglesey Council’s Executive approve holding a public consultation on expanding community based services –  which is feared could see the closure of community day centres at Morswyn in Holyhead as well as Llangoed’s Blaen y Coed and Gerddi Haulfre.
But in an amendment to the officers’ proposal it was decided that the six week process should not “pre-empt” the closure of any centre, despite still backing a general review of the current island-wide service.
The report had asked the Executive to consult on their closure as part of a medium term plan to expand community-based provision and Llangefni’s Gors Felen centre.
Gerddi Haulfre is currently used by 11 people a week, Morswyn by 21 and Gors Felen and Blaen y Coed by 24, having a combined annual budget of £833,000.
But officers believe that shutting the three centres would also reduce the disparity in running costs – which could be reinvested in further opportunities for adults with such learning disabilities that deem them unsuitable for the current council-run provision.
Denise Price from Holyhead has been campaigning against the closure of the Morswyn Centre  which her son Nathan, 38, has been attending daily for the past 15 years.
“I know this is a consultation but its causing a lot of concern, and we really fear that the plan is to centralise everything in Llangefni,” she told the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
“This would take people like Nathan out of their own communities, he loves it here.
“Morswyn is deeply rooted in Holyhead and a massive part of the lives of everyone who attends, and it’s a long way to Llangefni..
“These are vulnerable adults who would, I’m sure, become distressed at the overhaul of not seeing their friends on a daily basis in a familiar place with staff they know and love.
“It’s more like a family than anything else.”
According to the report, a final decision wouldn’t take place until May, with any subsequent overhaul taking place over a “three or four year period” – ruling out any immediate changes.
But Cllr Lewis Davies used Monday’s Executive meeting to urge officers to rethink the proposals, stating that many felt a decision “had already been made.”
“It would be impossible to hold an open consultation on the future of the service with the threat of closure hanging over Haulfre and Blaen y Coed.
“Many service users and their families feel they have been misled during the process so far.”
Alun Roberts, his fellow Seiriol ward councillor, urged the administration to prove that it was flexible and “willing to listen”, accepting there was a need to open a “full and frank dialogue” over the future of the service.
Cllr Carwyn Jones, a member of the Executive, said he could not support any consultation that “pre-empted” their closure, and that having visited all the affected centres he felt there was further potential there.
“We need to send out a clear message that we’re an open council but could not support the report as it stands as it would not encourage the type of process we should be following.”
Cllr Llinos Medi, proposing the amendment that the consultation should not expressing a view on closing any existing centres at this stage, urged both service users and their families to respond to the public consultation.

By Gareth Williams – Local Democracy Reporter



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