Council U-Turn On Ealing's Respite Care

Victory for campaigners after closure of Heller House

Ealing Council's bowed to local pressure and agreed to fund up to 12 respite care places in the borough.

It follows a huge campaign by local parents and carers after the closure of Heller House - the borough's only facility for short breaks for young adults with special needs.

The exact location has not been confirmed but carers want it to be built on Haydock Avenue, however the Council are considering a £1.5million purpose-built centre with six bedrooms, staff accommodation and a garden play area constructed alongside the Log Cabin Children’s Centre in Northfields, Ealing.

This is preferred location because of its proximity to the Log Cabin Centre - run by the Log Cabin charity - which has an adventure playground and other activities for children with additional needs and disabilities.

The single-storey building would enable 10-18 year-olds with disabilities to be cared for overnight in order to give their families a break.

Councillor Binda Rai, cabinet member for children and young people, said: “This is a very exciting solution which will give families high quality, modern respite facilities designed to meet their children’s needs in the borough. We are grateful for parents’ involvement throughout the review process and we will continue to welcome their input in the design and creation of this new facility.

“I am also pleased that Heller House can be given a new lease of life by helping families in need of somewhere to live.”

Speaking at Ealing Council’s Cabinet on Tuesday 15 November Councillor David Millican, Conservative Opposition Spokesman on Childrens Services, welcomed Ealing Council’s U-turn:

"Huge credit is due to the parents and Ealing Mencap for keeping faith in ensuring that Ealing Council now plans to open a proper residential short break facility for children with disabilities. It has been an honour to work closely with the campaigners every step of the way to force the council to U-turn.  

''The original plan was to close Heller House and then ship the children across London for the short breaks they are entitled to. The parents wanted to do this more locally and Ealing Council has finally agreed to open a brand new facility in Ealing. 

'' We have forced the Councillors back to the Town Hall time and again until they have finally relented. There is still much work to be done, but I am thrilled that the young people will have the facility they deserve. It is such a shame that the parents had to work so hard to get Ealing Council to offer a realistic solution, when they should have been offered this in the first place.”

Liberal Democrat Councillor Jon Ball said: "Lib Dems are pleased that Ealing Council has performed a U-turn and decided to reintroduce in-borough respite, but it is appalling that service users and their parents have been left in limbo for so long since the announcement that Heller House was to close."

He added: "It shouldn't have been left to service users, campaigners and Mencap to convince the administration that there is a growing unmet demand for respite and that provision here in Ealing is vital for the children concerned. I hope that the officers will change their "the Council knows best" attitude and work with parents to design the best future respite provision."

Siobhan Bryer from the campaign said: '' We are delighted that Ealing Council has listened to their voters. At 12,000 the petition was the largest ever in the borough and shows the high level of feeling among residents for our children with special needs and their families. We look forward to immediately setting up a reference group who will work closely with council officers on the plans for the best respite centre we can build. It is vital that we ensure together that the location, size and quality of the build and the people who run the service are the best. We thank Ealing officers and councillors for the hard work they have already put in so far.

The council is also exploring the possibility of creating a new respite service especially for 16-25 year olds in the borough and will report its findings in the spring.

17 November 2016 (updated)