Joy at respite care victory (From Western Telegraph)

Joy at respite care victory

The Western Telegraph-backed campaign for better respite care facilities for Pembrokeshires disabled children has been successful. Delighted parents learned on Thursday that Pembrokeshire County Council has done a U-turn and will not go ahead with a new respite care centre in Trafalgar Road, Haverfordwest. Instead a new unit will be built near the existing centre at Portfield Special School.

'At last the county council has come to a common sense decision,' said Gerry Brawn, of Milford Haven. 'We hope that it will now come up with a properly designed and constructed unit for high dependency children and their families which is desperately needed. Its a pity that almost 12 months have already been wasted in an alternative provision.' His wife Rosemarie said: 'Its thanks to the Western Telegraph that this has happened.'

Their son Alexander, who suffers from cerebral palsy and scoliosis and is unable to stand or walk, is a regular user of the present respite care centre.

Mr and Mrs Brawn, along with other parents, school staff, and representatives of organisations such as the local branch of MENCAP, were appalled when they saw the new facilities - a four-bedroom bungalow which is part of a Pembrokeshire Housing Association development.

They said there was not enough room for children and carers, there was limited garden space and it was right next to the busy Haverfordwest to St Davids Road, prompting safety fears. Work on the project was put on hold last month.

Commenting on the county councils decision to scrap the plan altogether, Mr Brawn said: 'People pressure has won the day. We certainly want to thank the Western Telegraph for its backing. It is now up to the parents and the Western Telegraph to keep a watching brief to ensure that the new centre is developed as promised.'

Chairman of Portfield School governors, Councillor Beryl Thomas-Cleaver: 'I am delighted at the news. This time I hope there will be more consultation. 'I hope that we will be able to call a meeting of governors and parents as soon as possible in September.'

Mel Jenkins, chairman of Haverfordwest MENCAP, said: 'We are delighted that the council intends to have the school, adult training centre and hostel altogether on one site as was originally intended. 'It is important to have the respite care centre in a secure place because it is for children and not adults. As many of those who stay at the centre are pupils from the school, they will be in a more familiar environment, there is plenty of room for them to go out for a walk and they can use the garden attached to the school.'

Pembrokeshire County council leader, Councillor Maurice Hughes, said that since the project first started many changes had taken place, not least in the requirement of the Care Standards Agency. 'We need to ensure the best possible facilities for respite care and despite the very best endeavours of council staff and the Pembrokeshire Housing Association it has become evident in recent months that it would be extremely difficult to do this on the Trafalgar Road site,' he said. He admitted: 'There has been some vociferous opposition to the Trafalgar Road project from some parents and we have listened to what they have had to say in making the decision to build a brand new centre at Portfield.

'We can almost double the number of nights available for young people in the new respite care facility and we shall be liaising closely with the parents over the coming weeks. We are determined to get this right.' The new scheme is scheduled to come before the Cabinet and council in the autumn for approval.

In the meantime the exiting unit attached to Portfield School will continue to operate and work to increase the number of bednights until the new centre is ready in the summer of 2003. Said Councillor Hughes: 'We well appreciate that this is an important issue and the last thing we want to do is upset parents and carers who are often coping with very difficult and stressful circumstances. We need to move on now to ensure the new centre provides the quality service we want to see.'

Pictured is Alexander Brawn, who symbolises our fight for better respite care facilities in Pembrokeshire. PICTURE: Western Telegraph.