Agenda item

To receive any deputations notified under Standing Order 12.

The Committee received five deputations relating to the item on the agenda about proposals affecting Orchard Close Respite Service:

Kathie & Samantha Tong (service user and her mother)

Samantha stayed at Orchard Close and really liked it there, she had made friends with others that stayed there, appreciated the consistency of knowing the staff there and was scared of the prospect of changing to have to use an alternative respite facility. Her mother was concerned about the time it took for her daughter to settle into a new arrangement. The impact of the potential loss of Orchard Close was like grief.

David Humphries (parent carer)

Felt the report was biased towards the option of closing Orchard Close, and challenged the viability of the estimated savings that could be achieved. While the report referred to service users and carers having meetings to discuss alternative options, he knew of several who had refused these meetings. There was anecdotal evidence that other respite units didn’t provide the same level of trips/activities for service users as Orchard Close. He felt it was unfair for successive savings to impact the same service users year on year.

Rosemary Macri (parent of service user)

Her son stayed at Orchard Close when she needed respite, he enjoyed it there and had good relationships with other service users and the staff. She was surprised it was proposed to close the unit, given it was so well used and highly regarded. Alternative respite units would not be the same as they didn’t have the benefit of the coastal location. She was concerned that the capacity estimates didn’t take account of different levels of demand at different times of year.

Sarah Orchard (sister to service user)

Her sister stayed at Orchard Close when her parents needed respite from caring for her. Her sister’s behaviour became challenging when she was unsettled. It took a long time for her to become comfortable with Orchard Close and it would be a long process to re-settle her at an alternative facility. Change was particularly hard for this cohort of service users due to their learning disabilities, so closing a unit they liked would have a big impact for these individuals and their families.

Sally Eshraghi (parent carer)

She was a carer to her son who accessed shared lives respite. She is also a carer representative on various groups. Carers that used Orchard Close had a sense of security from using this unit as they trusted the service provided there. This would be lost if Orchard Close closed. She believed that there was a backlog of carers assessments, and she felt there would be an increase in demand for respite once these were undertaken. Carers were often wary of private sector provided respite holidays as the staff involved were unknown. She lacked confidence in the alternative respite facilities being as good as Orchard Close and was concerned that it would be a long process for service users to re-adjust to alternatives. Other sites couldn’t replicate the access to the beach Orchard Close benefited from. Other respite centres also catered for physical disabilities, and therefore it was more difficult for staff to provide activities as they needed to support those with physical disabilities. She would like to work with the County Council to find alternative ways to make the savings and explore alternatives for Orchard Close e.g. passing the trust and running of the unit to another organisation. 

All the deputees were against the proposals to close the respite service provided from Orchard Close on Hayling Island.