The disabled need a real holiday too – as do the people who care for them
Carolyn Roulstone tells how Leuchie House works hard to help the disadvantaged rediscover the simple joys of life
Last month there was a lively debate in the Scottish Parliament on accessible and inclusive tourism.
Led by the cabinet secretary for culture, Tourism and External Affairs, MSPS from across Scotland spoke passionately about some of the work going on to open up options for outings, breaks and holidays for some of the most disadvantaged people in our society.
With disabled people representing nearly 20 per cent of Scotland’s working age population, it is estimated that as many as four out of five don’t get a holiday. Understandable then, that the Cabinet Secretary spoke frankly about still having a long way to go before we have a totally inclusive and accessible tourism sector.
There are some excellent new initiatives under way led by Visitscotland, Euan’s Guide and others. The main focus of the inclusive tourism agenda continues to be about physical barriers and the need to remove or adapt them to enable access to tourist attractions and holiday destinations.
While this is hugely important, it is by no means the only barrier to accessible tourism. When it comes to breaks and holidays, another equally important aspect is care provision.
If you need round-the-clock support to provide personal care, or help to eat and drink, or a hoist to get you from your wheelchair into bed, or adapted transport to be able to get out and about, the prospect of going on holiday can seem very distant. Yet, if you have a long-term health condition, being able to have regular breaks is likely to be critical to your health and wellbeing.
Much day-to-day care will probably be provided by a spouse or another family member. The daily demands of caring will inevitably take their toll and leave them in dire need of regular breaks too.
There are a number of dedicated short break and holiday facilities for people with long-term conditions in Scotland. However, most don’t offer 24 hour care. This still needs to be provided by whoever usually does it. So while they give a very welcome change of scene and use of accessible facilities, there is no real break for the care giver.
Many people are left with no option but to admit the person they look after to a residential care home. This is clearly a less than ideal solution and not what most of us would want. So what’s the answer?
The model developed by Leuch- ie House in North Berwick over the past five years focuses on providing a complete short break package that meets the health and – crucially – the social needs of people with long term conditions, while offering a complete break for the care giver.
Working with people with a wide range of physical and neurological conditions, around half of Leuchie’s guests have very complex care needs, requiring high levels of support and, in some cases, one-to-one care. We firmly believe that every single one of them, whatever the stage of their condition, has the right to have a holiday in the true sense of the word, with the chance to have new experiences, meet new people, have fun – all the things we’d all hope for.
From the point someone books a break, we start working on a tailored care plan. When they arrive, we carry out a comprehensive assessment of their needs. Each guest is guaranteed to receive the individualised 24 hour care they require. The focus can then be on creating a special holiday.
With our specialist team, equipment and transport, whatever each guest’s ambitions for their break, we will do whatever we can to make it happen, whether that’s rediscovering a simple pleasure like going out for a pub lunch or something more adventurous like taking a microlight fight along the East Lothian coastline. Watching guests grow in confi- dence as they reconnect with things they used to enjoy and discover new experiences is one of the real joys of working at Leuchie House.
If the Leuchie model is so beneficial, why is increased provision of this type not firmly on the inclusive and accessible tourism agenda? As ever,
it comes down to another major barrier – cost. The availability of funding, both for short break providers like Leuchie and for people who have long-term conditions, continues to be limited and subject to huge differences depending on where you live.
If we are to fully achieve Scotland’s ambitions for inclusive tourism, recognising the value of caring holidays has to be pushed up the political agenda. The individual and societal benefits are clear and wide-ranging. Surely, this is a small price to pay? Carolyn Roulstone is head of business development at Leuchie House.