The only short-stay respite service in Bath and North East Somerset for adults and children with serious disabilities, severe medical needs, and those who require round-the-clock care is being axed.
In a letter, social care charity Dimensions and Bath & North East Somerset Council have told families that the short breaks service at Newton House in Twerton will be ending soon due to financial difficulties.
A petition started on Saturday has already been signed by 1,000 people.
The joint letter that families have received was from the council’s Live Well commissioning manager and the operations director of Dimensions, which runs the home in Tanners Walk.
The letter says: “After careful consideration we have made the decision to stop providing short breaks services at Newton House.
“We understand just 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.
“Newton House will remain a service run by Dimensions but will become a residential care home instead of providing short breaks. We understand this change may worry you.
“We will support you to find a suitable alternative service, which can best meet your needs, and we will ensure there is a smooth transition between these.
“All bookings up to the end of January will be honoured. There were no bookings of Newton House beyond that point and no further bookings can now be made from 1st February.”
The letter adds: “B&NES Council will appoint you a practitioner who will be your point of contact and who will look at whether your current needs remain the same as we had previously assessed.
“This will mean that you will either have a reassessment, a review or just a conversation to check this with you.”
In response to the letter a petition – https://www.change.org/SaveNewtonHouse – was launched on Saturday, addressed to B&NES Council and the Department of Health and Social Care.
It was started by Richard Franklin, who says: “Newton House is the only short-stay respite home in Bath and North East Somerset for adults and children with serious disabilities, severe medical needs, and those who require 24/7 care. It is an essential lifeline service for the users and families.
“This home gives much-needed respite and care to families who have severely disabled people to support, and to the most vulnerable people, who have no voice, so didn’t vote for this.”
“It is the only home in the area, so it’s very important that this is not allowed to shut, especially without any consultation, or anything else to replace it in the area.
“These families need respite care; it is not a luxury, but an essential service for people with severe needs and those who care for them.
“This proposal is a cost-saving measure only and once lost, it’s gone forever.
“This terrible decision has been made at a very local level, under the Liberal Democrat council, without any consideration for service users and carers. There is no proposed alternative provision, leaving families totally bereft of help and support.”
Meanwhile the Independent councillor for Keynsham South ward, Alan Hale, this week said the closure “shows a total lack of consideration for those service users who are already disadvantaged”.
He has written to Councillor Alison Born and Councillor Paul May, the council’s executive members for adult services and children’s services respectively.
Cllr Hale said that if there is a funding shortage then the council “should stop building little-used cycle lanes to the detriment of the greater majority of road users and £10 million spent on the so-called ‘Ring of Steel’ in Bath “allegedly to prevent terrorist attacks but only during the working day. They have yet to explain what protects the night-time economy”.
