An Aberdeenshire mum has expressed fears over the potential closure of adult day services in Banff and the impact this will have on her daughter.
Shirley Anderson, from Turriff, has relied on the centre to help look after her daughter, Sadie Anderson, who suffers from a rare genetic condition.
Without it, she said the family could face a “real struggle”.
Banff Day Services could be axed as a result of cutbacks from Aberdeenshire Health and Social Care Partnership (AHSCP), with all services under review.
With facilities such as a sensory room, crafting classes, and a physiotherapy room, there is a large variety of beneficial activities for disabled adults.
Sadie has 22q deletion syndrome and heterotopia of the brain, which both affect her ability to learn, and she lives with OCD and anxiety.
Banff Day Services gives the 22-year-old many great opportunities that she would not have had access to otherwise.
There is also a social aspect to the groups, something which Shirley feels would be a great miss were they to go.
Shirley said: “I think Sadie would really struggle on a day-to-day basis. She has learning issues that would prevent her from getting a job.
“She struggled at school and even ended up hardly leaving her bed for a year.
“If she isn’t stimulated, she doesn’t see a purpose in what she’s doing.”
Banff Day Services could close
It is understood if the day service closed, AHSCP would not shut the facility down immediately and measures would be put in place to ease attendees into replacement services.
However, travelling and finding a new location would be a challenge for Sadie and Shirley.
Shirley said: “We stay in Turriff, and Sadie gets a taxi up to Banff in the morning and I pick her up in the evening.
“If the services were to come to an end we would have to look much further afield.
“The structure of having a routine where she sees her friends every day has been brilliant for her, and it would be such a shame if that were to go.
“I think new surroundings, and having to introduce herself to new faces would be really quite bad for her given her progress.”
Banff Day Services gives Sadie many great opportunities, which she would not have had access to otherwise.
“Since she went there, it’s opened so many doors for her. The friendships and the experiences wouldn’t be quite the same,” Shirley added.
“The service offers so much in terms of life skills, there’s crafting, gardening and lots of other activities which have been so beneficial for her.”
Services across region being reviewed
Charging policies could change too, with plans for one service to increase from £42 a day to £148 to cover running costs.
This could mean several services will fall out of attendees’ self-directed support budget.
Jeff Shaw, partnership manager at Aberdeenshire Health and Social Care, said: “At the most recent meeting of the Aberdeenshire Integration Joint Board, it was agreed that we would roll out our Learning Disability Strategy, ‘Be All You Can Be’ across Aberdeenshire.
“The rollout of this strategy is likely to see more people accessing services in their local communities.
“Any changes to how people access and receive services will be managed very carefully and with the person at the centre.
“In addition, it was agreed that we would review the provision of our buildings-based, in-house, Day Services.”
It is understood that no final decisions have been made at this point.
Read more:
Under-fire health boss says at-risk Aberdeenshire carers ‘spend half their time not working’
Conversation