The uncle of a disabled man from Wirral is pleading with the council to avoid ruining a routine crucial to his nephew's life.
Wirral Evolutions, a company in which Wirral Council is the sole shareholder, is planning to close two day care centres in the borough.
One of them is based in New Brighton, on Cambridge Road, while the other is known as Highcroft Day Centre, in Bebington, the place Kieran Kneen, 21, goes five days per week.
George Lamb, 28, from Bebington, has set up a petition on Change.org to keep the centre open and protect the care received by his nephew Kieran and others like him.
So far the petition has attracted 460 signatures.
Kieran has an unknown disability, which means he has to use a wheelchair and has limited communication and learning skills.
He needs round the clock care and help with things such as going to the toilet.
Speaking about his nephew, George said: “He is severely disabled physically and mentally, in terms of learning. But at the day care centre he has made a good social circle with service users and staff.
“He depends heavily on it and he always looks forward to going to the centre.”
Kieran has been attending the centre for three years and activities put on by the staff include painting and singing, things which help Kieran to socialise and enjoy himself.
George said the lockdown hit Kieran hard, harming his routine and his ability to socialise. It halted the relationships he had built with staff and others at the centre.
He added: “Kieran always has a massive smile on his face when he goes there and we were so glad the centre opened after the lockdown finished.
“He looked forward to that so much, now we’re faced with the news it might be closing. It’s a nightmare, it would hit the family really hard.
“We’re dreading telling him he can’t go back. It’s not just about where he goes but who he is with everyday. He may not see people again, they could all be sent to different centres.
“The staff know his needs and there’s a level of trust with Kieran and the family, we trust the staff members.”
Speaking about the petition he had launched, George added: “Although I'm his uncle, we are very close and the whole family is involved in sorting out his [Kieran’s] care.
“So I took it upon myself to set up a campaign and a petition.”
Commenting on Wirral Evolutions' plans last week, a spokesperson for Wirral Council said: “[The council] created Wirral Evolutions five years ago and the organisation is successfully supporting our most vulnerable people with learning disabilities and are a very highly-valued service provider in the borough.
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“Robust internal structures have been put in place to better manage things like governance and performance.
“We are confident that the challenges they were presented with, as a result of operating costs being higher than the budget available, will be met effectively and that they will be able to realise their new delivery model without any negative impact on the quality of their services.
“The council will continue to support Wirral Evolutions in any way it can, while also closely monitoring the changes they are making so that clients and their families can be assured that the services they receive are of the highest quality and appropriate to their individual needs.”
