A Keynsham man has urged Bath & North East Somerset Council not to cut the “lifeline” respite care service that his family relies on.
Richard Franklin with David Biddleston | Photo © John Wimperis
Richard and Julie Franklin were hit by a “massive shock” earlier this month when they were told by letter that the respite care service at Newton House in Bath, where their son Ryan Probert often stays for short breaks, would close at the end of January 2025.
That closure was “paused” after Mr Franklin launched a petition which has now been signed by over 1,800 people, but he warned many families did not know what this meant.
He has now addressed a meeting of the council to urge them to keep the service going.
On Monday 16th December, he told councillors on the council’s children, adults, health, and wellbeing scrutiny panel: “This home is a total lifeline that gives us just that little bit of time to enjoy that bit of freedom without any stress or any fuss or any worry.
“This situation has done nothing but cause stress and anxiety and worry to the both of us.”
Ryan Probert, who uses the service at Newton House | Photo © Julie Franklin
Mr Franklin said: “Without the short breaks respite at Newton House, my son and many others will have to go into full time residential care at a much higher cost.”
Ryan is 28 and has an unbalanced translocation of chromosomes which means he is small, is non-verbal, and needs medication and a very high level of care.
He said it had taken time to build trust with the home, but now the home knew and could deal with Ryan’s needs.
He added: “We are left to enjoy the free time, something of a bit of a normal life. We know Ryan enjoys his time there and away from us having a break is no different to all our kids going away from their parents and enjoying that free time.”
Last week, Alison Born, the council’s cabinet member for adult services, emailed the family to say that the closure of the home was “paused” while the needs of people using the home were reviewed and for alternative services to be identified.
But Mr Franklin said the family had not yet been offered any other provision, and that Ryan had been reassessed just two weeks ago due to “a mess up on behalf of B&NES”.
Mr Franklin said: “We live day by day in stress and anxiety dealing with Ryan. Never a day goes by without something wrong or not right at the chemist, or with transport, just in general. The biggest worry though is the loss of his lifeline.”
Ms Born has been invited to speak to the committee about the issue at its next meeting in January.
The vice chair of the council scrutiny panel Councillor Liz Hardman (Paulton, Labour) told Mr Franklin: “Thank you for making us aware of what was happening to your son, Ryan.
“It was your story that alerted us to what was happening because very few of us knew that Newton House was proposed to be closed as a respite centre.”
Speaking after the meeting, Mr Franklin said: “It’s nice that something has been set but, being left over Christmas, I should imagine it will be a conversation over the dinner table for a few users.”
He said: “[I’m] glad that something is happening and that people are taking notice. But should this decision have been made in the first place without any consultation?”
Councillor David Biddleston (Keynsham South, Labour), who accompanied Mr Franklin to the panel, said he was “shocked and disappointed that a decision could have been made without proper consultation”.
He said: “The Labour group will continue to work very hard for the maintenance of this important provision.”
Mr Franklin said that service users had no political agenda, but said somebody had to stand up and share their position.
Newton House is run by care provider Dimensions. The letter sent to families announcing its closure, which was co-signed by both Dimensions and Bath & North East Somerset Council, said: “We understand how important it is for you and your family to be able to access short breaks.
“This is not a decision we wanted to take, and we did not take it lightly. But unfortunately, Newton House as a short breaks service has simply become unaffordable.”
Writing to families the next week to put the closure on pause, Ms Born said the respite care service had been operating at about 60% capacity.
She said: “The proposed change was intended to make the best use of this important facility and to ensure that it was meeting local needs but I understand the lack of clarity about alternative provision for each of the existing users has created uncertainty and I am sorry about the distress caused.”
John Wimperis, Local Democracy Reporter
