These families need our support, not cash
Councillor calls for rethink on respite care for parents
Families who lost out on lifeline respite care for their disabled children after a vital service was axed must get more support.
The plea comes from Councillor Derek Bibby, who represents Johnstone North, Kilbarchan, Howwood and Lochwinnoch.
He wants more local help to be given to families impacted by the closure of Corseford Shortbreaks.
A total of 16 families were left gutted when Capability Scotland announced it would be closing the service in Johnstone in December last year.
The Express revealed the charity’s plans to scrap the service after it announced it had suffered “significant operating losses over a number of years”.
During a full council meeting on December 17 last year, councillors agreed that discussions should go ahead “immediately” to “address the funding issues which appear to have led to the decision”.
Renfrewshire Council said it tried to reach out to Capability Scotland to keep the service, but nothing could be done as it had already been closed.
Families impacted are now being offered Self-Directed Support (SDS) to help find alternative services in the area.
However, Labour man Councillor Bibby says the options given to families are not adequate enough and will not remove the stress of arranging respite for families.
He said: “I advise people to stay away from SDS as resources are being reduced and services are closing.
“Giving them the money is all well and good, but it doesn’t remove any of the stress these parents are facing.
“Giving someone a SDS budget when services are reducing was once best described to me by a constituent as giving someone £1,000, standing them outside an empty shop and telling them to go inside and buy whatever they wanted.
“The fact that the service had closed should not have prevented discussions taking place on its reopening.”
A Renfrewshire Council spokesman said: “We are sorry that this independent provided service has closed.
“Our staff took immediate action after the council meeting on December 17 and we tried to speak with Capability Scotland to see what could be done to support this service.
“Unfortunately, the service had closed before further discussion could take place.
“Ensuring Renfrewshire families have respite care is vital and we continue to provide services locally.
“Clients of the service who live in Renfrewshire have been provided with alternative services within the local authority area.
“Individuals can choose which service they wish to receive using SDS and can change their support if it no longer suits their needs.”
Capability Scotland said, at the time, the decision to close the service had been a “difficult and sad one for us to take”, adding: “The number of children and young people accessing the service has been reducing and we were only supporting a small number of families in recent times, well below the service’s potential capacity and limiting our ability to generate sufficient income and growth to make the service sustainable.”
Capability Scotland would not provide any further comment when the Express contacted the charity, but stated it was working with a “small number” of families on alternative respite.