Taylor Murray
A DECISION to reject controversial plans to merge vital services for those with learning disabilities has been hailed as a victory for people power.
Thousands of local residents signed a petition against proposals to combine the Milldale and Mirin day centres.
Renfrewshire’s Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP) had said merging Milldale, based at the On-X sports hub in Linwood, with the Mirin facility at Paisley’s Lagoon leisure centre would save more than £450,000.
However, the revised service was to focus only on people who have family-based support, with a different approach taken for those with supported living care packages.
Protestors insisted both day centres must remain open.
A special meeting of the Renfrewshire Integration Joint Board (IJB) – responsible for oversight of the HSCP – took place on Monday, after decision-makers could not agree on how to proceed at a previous meeting held in March.
And campaigners were celebrating as, this time, board members rejected the proposed merger by five votes to three.
Joanne Kurth, whose son Tim attends Milldale, was among a number of parents who gathered outside Renfrewshire House, in Paisley, ahead of the meeting to stage a protest.
She said it would be hugely disruptive for Tim, who has autism, if Milldale was to close.
Brookfield resident Joanne, 63, told The Gazette: “It is not only that he is going somewhere safe, he is somewhere he is happy to go to.
“He has a meaningful life, he is engaged in good activities and his physical and mental health is well cared for.”
Councillor David McGonigle, who represents Houston, Crosslee and Linwood for the Scottish Conservatives and has been a strong critic of the proposals, praised all of the parents who opposed the merger.
He said: “This is a wonderful and incredible victory for local campaigners.
“They have fought this planned merger tirelessly at every turn and their voices have at long last been heard by decision-makers.
“Almost 4,000 people signed a petition, which showed the strength of feeling against the proposals.
“I have been proud to stand alongside them since these totally misguided plans were brought forward.
“They should never have been on the table and I have heard first-hand just how devastating a merger of these vital centres would have been for some of my most vulnerable constituents.
“The continued delays to a final decision have created huge anxiety for them and their loved ones.
“Now that the right decision has been made, I am urging the SNP Scottish Government to fully fund our councils to support the Milldale Centre in my ward and the Mirin Centre in Paisley going forward, to avoid such a plan ever being considered again.”
Councillor Jennifer Adam, chair of the IJB board, said the merger was not supported by the SNP administration in Renfrewshire.
“I am delighted with the outcome,” she added. “I have been working closely with the families, especially a group of around eight from Milldale.
“They have been battling all their days to get what they are entitled to.
“The HSCP officers will be looking at other avenues now and it should not be coming back before the board.”