Families' dismay at closure of day care centres

7:10am Saturday 9th February 2008

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By Claire Fry »

PARENTS of the young disabled men who have been using Pershore Care Centre have vowed to fight against the closure.

The Friends of Pershore Care Centre were set up in December 1987 and have since raised thousands of pounds to support it.

But the group say they feel "betrayed" by yesterday's decision by the county council to close it, along with the Perryfields Day Centre in Worcester.

John Bradley, treasurer of the Friends and father of Mark, aged 38, who has been using the centre since he left school, said the closure would severely affect them.

Mr Bradley, of Barnes Way, St Peter's, said they would fight to keep the centre - to which which they have given thousands of pounds, including a cash grant of £29,000 eight years ago to develop the site - open for their sons.

He said: "We have provided £100,000 in equipment and helped that centre for many years - and this is their way of saying thank you?

"We just feel very choked at the decision and the money and support they got from us and now they are just saying goodbye.

"We feel a bit betrayed."

His son, who is classified as having critical needs, has attended the centre for 20 years and goes there five days a week.

Mr Bradley said: "If he were to go to residential care is would cost £100,000 a year to keep him. We take the major burden of looking after him. I am surprised at this move by the council.

"Not going there will turn Mark's world upside down. At the moment they have a social life. They go to the safari park, they visit the shops and come back and cook. They are their own little community.

"They say it is £40,000 a year for the centre but we believe the figures are exaggerated. It is down that the building costs £30,000 but that will still be there if they leave. Also we are told that it costs £45,000 for transporting two people but we can't believe it costs that much. The whole point is we don't know what the real costs are. We are all going to keep fighting."

Pauline Caines, whose 21-year-old son Dwain also attends the Pershore centre, said she was deeply upset by the move.

"My daughter Kym had the same condition. When she was poorly I took her out of Pershore and shortly afterwards she died. I am so upset about this. We will take this further."

Mrs Caines, who lives in Yates Hay, Malvern, said: "If I could change places with a councillor for just a week so they could see what we have to go through I would. I don't think they would last."

Chairwoman of the Friends Judy Hall, whose 35-year-old son attends Pershore, said she did not know how she would tell him the bad news.

"Matt has been going there since he was 16. That is 20 years. We got the centre after six years of fighting for it and we won't give up now."

Mrs Hall did not think there was any long-term provision for young people with profound multiple learning disabilities in the county.

She said: "I'm not prepared to trade my son's care for something sub-standard."

She thought that the closures would shorten the lives of the men who depend on the centres.

l Is your family affected by the closure of Perryfields? Call Claire Fry on 01905 742263 or e-mail cf@worcesternews.co.uk