Petitions and Public Address
Decision:
The Council received the following Public Address:
Mrs Rachel Scott-Hunter regarding Adults with learning Disabilites;
Mr Ted Cooper, Resident of Witney regarding Daytime Support;
Ms Maggie Swaine, Chair of the October Club Management Committee regarding Daytime Support.
Minutes:
The Council received the following Public Address:
Rachael Scott-Hunter spoke against the proposals to stop financially supporting day support centres. She referred to her experience as a parent caring for a severely disabled adult daughter and the importance to her of Kidlington Day Centre which she had attended for the past 26 years and was a totally safe space and respected her physical and mental needs. Changes would bring about anxiety, stress and challenging behaviours. Her daughter would be separated from friends and would be sent to an inappropriate hub with elderly patients. She believed the proposals were against basic human rights. She urged Council to put themselves into her daughter’s shoes.
Ted Cooper resident of Witney expressed the disquiet of users of his local centre in Witney. He expressed his dismay that no one from the Council had visited the centre and that users had not been directly consulted. There were particular concerns around transport. He believed that some elderly people would not be able to manage the online registration process and that booking a seat a week in advance was not practicable and that the time allowed at the centre due to transport limited integration within the centre. He urged the Council to consider making some small changes, particularly around transport, to make the proposals workable.
Maggie Swain, Chair of the October Club Management Committee emphasised the value of the Wantage & Grove Independent Day Centre which provided support in a small local group particularly for those with Alzheimer’s/dementia who would struggle with transport and responded better in a smaller less busy environment. The safe and stimulating environment was available to people 5 days a week for 6 hours and enabled people to remain at home longer and provided essential respite for careers. She believed that closing clubs such as this one would be at high cost to the Council and the NHS. She urged the Council to consider the detrimental effect of losing the support of volunteers and voluntary groups for the future.