Burt Calls For Care Centre To Be Kept Open

10.49.00am UTC (GMT +0000) Mon 10th Mar 2008

Richard Burt with clients and carers at the Pershore Care Centre.

Richard Burt visited closure-threatened Pershore Care Centre on Friday 7 March to meet the four men with profound multiple learning disabilities who use the Centre with their parents and carers.

Mr Burt met and talked with the men and held separate discussions with parents and carers about plans to save the facility earmarked for closure by the County Council.

Richard Burt said: "Carers and staff at the centre are one big family and have been caring for the men with multiple severe learning difficulties for the past twenty years. Here they feel secure and at home.

"Staff have built up expertise over many years and parents are able to continue to care for their sons at home in the evenings and at weekends.

"Parents have told me their sons would become frustrated, angry and depressed if they were forced to move, and they would be far more difficult to deal with physically at home. All the parents I spoke to felt they would not be able to cope with home care if the closure goes ahead because they don't believe the quality of care would be the same.

"It would be a tragedy if the facility was closed and the men required more expensive, residential care because of the stress and upset any move to larger, less specialised centres would cause.

"The Conservative-run County Council has spent over £1 million on lavish refurbishment of their debating chamber and councillors' personal offices this year. I don't know how they can look these parents in the eye and close their son's centre."