There were angry scenes at a budget cuts meeting in Stornoway.
The Hillcrest care home in the Lewis town is likely to close with the potential loss of 28 jobs under a council proposal to radically change residential care arrangements for children .
Affected families are furious over the plan to save £350,000 to move all children currently in residential care at the Action for Children-operated facility into foster care.
Council leader Angus Campbell faced the intense wrath of numerous staff and parents at an inflamed public meeting in the council chambers in Stornoway.
One enraged mother denounced council chiefs for having a “short-sighted view,” saying it would end up costing more if they have to send children to the mainland.
Referring to other proposed cuts, she angrily stated: Our children are not going to have music, they are not going to have art and they are not going to have PE.
“Now you are saying that children with additional support needs are not going to get respite.”
“Do you have any idea what it is like to have a child with additional support needs?”
She shouted: “I am leaving now because otherwise I am going to punch you.”
It is understood the council plans to build its own respite care unit at Back, Lewis, at a cost of around £2 million.
One critic asked: “What alternative is in place for parents if there is a breakdown in respite – and it does happen – if you close Hillcrest.”
Council chief executive Malcolm Burr agreed “residential provision can sometimes be the solution.”
One speaker said the proposal could see 28 redundancies of skilled staff, including people who had worked at the home for nearly 20 years.
The knock-on impact at its associated support services could make up to 52 jobs vulnerable, she stressed.
Western Isles Council has proposed a raft of cuts and savings to stave off an estimated £14 million black hole for the next two years.
The council is poised to slash spending and implement cuts to shore up nearly two thirds of its deficit.
But £5 million is still to be identified.
Community feedback will be used to inform councillors final vote on the cuts in February.