fears of people with learning problems

Concern over changes in help for disabled

Published:

Highland Council is being asked to explain proposed changes to the provision of services to people with learning disabilities to worried users and their carers.

Deirdre Mackay, who is one of the members for the council’s East Sutherland and Edderton ward, said they had been told services were to be “reconfigured”, but not how, where or when it would be done.

Mrs Mackay said the changes would affect the six-bed Beachview Lodge respite care centre at Brora, the Isobel Rhind Centre at Invergordon, Easter Ross, and the Corbett Centre in Inverness.

And she said many of the service users and carers who used the Beachview centre in her ward had contacted her, complaining about the lack of information.

Mrs Mackay is now inviting social work chairman Margaret Davidson and Jonathan King, who is head of operations for community care, to meet them at Brora to answer their questions.

She added that a date for the meeting had yet to be fixed, but she hoped it could be arranged within the next month.

The Labour councillor said she called a public meeting at Brora on May 1 to discuss the situation, and was amazed when about 70 people turned up.

“I was expecting about a dozen, but they came from all over Sutherland and from Easter Ross.

“There has been an information vacuum and they were desperate to find out what’s happening. The huge turnout just shows the level of concern out there.

“The respite care offered by these centres is a lifeline to the people who use them. They enable families to stay together and give carers great peace of mind,” said Mrs Mackay.

Mr King said the council believed it could provide the respite services currently offered at Beachview Lodge elsewhere, and that the Brora facility could then be used to offer services for people with learning disabilities that are currently only available outwith Highland.

He added that the report to the council on reconfiguration of services was only the starting point.

Mr King said there would be full consultation with users before changes were made, nothing was going to happen for some time, and there were no plans to cut any jobs at Beachview Lodge.

And he said he would be happy to attend the meeting at Brora as it would form part of the consultation process.