A year-long contract extension has been granted for a closure threatened Spalding centre that provides respite care for disabled adults.
Lincolnshire County Council said in April it was to close Cedar House and its sister site Swallow Lodge in Lincoln, and instead pay for respite in non-specialist providers such as care and nursing homes.
But following an outcry by users who described the centre as a ‘lifeline’ it is now carrying out a consultation on the future of respite care.
It had proposed to close the centres in August, but on Tuesday (July 15) its executive passed a £1m one year contract extension with the Making Spaces charity that currently maintains both Cedar House and Swallow Lodge.
Council officers say closing the sites is not about money but having more flexible options, though reports previously said it would save £343,324 a year.
Options being consulted on include keeping one or both centres open and whether to run the facilities itself or end its ‘Shared Lives’ scheme where adults with disabilities are matched with carers.
Martin Samuels LCC’s executive director of adult care told its Executive there had been ‘quite a number’ and ‘a lot of feedback’ online to the consultation.
“Perhaps the most important part is the people who actually use the service or could use the service,” he said.
“We’ve identified 124 individuals who would benefit from accessing short breaks.
“A lot of them don’t use the current service because it doesn’t meet their needs.”
Of those around half have agreed to face-to-face meetings on the consultation, Mr Samuels said.
“Every single individual that uses or could use the service has been contacted directly,” he said.
Coun Natalie Oliver called it ‘a fantastic example of a consultation process’ despite her Executive having initially proposed the closure without any consultation process at all.
She also criticised opposing politicians and the media for its reporting of the situation.
“Politicians need to be really careful on jumping on this and using our most vulnerable residents to score political points,” she said. “We’ve had people crying and in a situation where they think these services will be closed and they won’t have the ability to utilise short breaks.
“That’s not a situation we want our residents in as that’s clearly not something that’s been on the cards from the off’.
One parent of users told The Voice that she believes not having Cedar House open during the COVID-19 lockdowns led to her having a heart attack.
More than 2,000 people have signed petitions against the closures while, as reported last week, MP Sir John Hayes has urged for the centre to remain open.
