One person said they can’t relax for a minute
Carol Fairbrother, Christine Brie, Colin and Anne Archer, John Daulby, Alison Avery and Jennifer Hunter all want Wirral Council to listen to their concerns(Image: Andrew Teebay Liverpool Echo)
Families in Merseyside say they are on the brink as a combination of potential cuts and strikes risk throwing them “into the abyss”. Some say they “can’t relax for a minute” as the future of their loved ones’ care is in doubt.
Wirral Council is considering a number of options for its day care services. The local authority currently runs eight day centres across the borough which provide support for people with learning and physical disabilities through the Wirral Evolutions service.
For those who go there, the centres feel like home with friends and a community to welcome them. It is this safety and comfort families fear is now being threatened.
All options are being considered including possible privatisation which is causing the most worry. Families said when the council previously privatised the Wirral Evolutions service, they were completely shut out.
Several family members of those supported by the service have told the ECHO that they have questions about how things might work, whether their loved ones will be properly looked after, and their fear that the council may make the same mistakes again.
In February the council will be asking for people involved with the service to make their views, concerns, and ideas known urging everyone to take part. Cllr Graeme Cooper said all responses would be considered before any recommendations are made over the future of the service.
There’s scepticism that the council will listen. At the same time, the ECHO was told investment in one centre has been so poor that buckets have to be brought out when it rains to catch leaks in the roof.
Carol Fairbrother said her brother was frightened(Image: Andrew Teebay Liverpool Echo)
Carol Fairbrother, whose brother is 68 and goes to Eastham, said: “My brother talks constantly about what will happen to him when the day services will close,” adding: “It’s a massive part of his life. He is very frightened.”
Others fear council changes could also see them paying as much as £2,500 for care. Christine Brie, whose son Alex receives support, said: “They are coming at us at every front and telling us no details about these things.”
Some are feeling more hopeful. John Daulby is cautiously optimistic the council is starting to listen to families and their concerns.
He said: “My personal feeling about this is it’s the first time I think that adult social services have actually gone as far as they have gone in terms of actually involving the parents and carers because I do not think they did before.”
The Archers said the current situation was affecting everybody in the family(Image: Andrew Teebay Liverpool Echo)
However people want clearer answers about what will happen. Anne Archer, who pleaded with councillors not to close her son Tom’s centre, said: “We have to cope with the same questions again and again.”
Colin, her husband, said: “It’s affecting everybody in the family, the uncertainty. It’s worse for Tom and we constantly have to reassure him.”
If the council reduces services as she fears they might, Anne said: “At the moment we are able but it’s getting harder. How am I going to do Tom’s personal care? How am I going to look after him?”
In all this uncertainty, staff represented by union Unison have also been walking out on strike due to a dispute separate from any future plans. Jennifer Hunter, whose brother has been going to Eastham’s centre for 41 years, said the situation was pushing her to the brink.
She said the situation “breaks my heart without a doubt”, adding: “I want them to realise that this strike action has made my life as difficult as anything the council have done. The strike action has thrown me into the abyss.”
Responding to the criticism over the strikes, David Jones, branch secretary for Wirral Unison, said: “This is not a decision taken lightly, and we are very conscious of the disruption that this will cause to the people who use our services. Our members who work in Wirral Evolutions are passionate about their jobs, and care very much about the people they support.”
Both the union and the council said they were working to resolve the dispute(Image: Andrew Teebay Liverpool Echo)
Both Wirral Council and Unison said they are working to resolve the industrial dispute. The union has also criticised the council over the service review.
Adult social care committee chair Cllr Graeme Cooper said: “I am meeting regularly with parents and carers and I am aware of their concerns, as well as their wish to achieve better outcomes for the people the council cares for.
“With other committee members, I have also visited all the council’s day centres to meet some of the people that the council supports and members of the day services team.
“At our committee meeting last week, members decided to consult on proposals to redesign and transform day care services in Wirral. The aim through this process is to achieve better outcomes for those who need care and support and promote choice, dignity and independence.
“Of course, the prospect of change is daunting – particularly for those who have specific needs and the people around them, who are settled into a way of receiving care and support.
“We are committed to listening to concerns and considering individual circumstances, as well as hearing new ideas, before any decisions are made, which is why we have asked for the consultation with all the key stakeholders.”