A RESIDENTIAL respite unit for children and young people with disabilities in Basingstoke will be closed permanently due to mounting costs and much-needed repair work.

Firvale Residential Respite was temporarily closed at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020, and earlier this year Hampshire County Council carried a consultation on plans to shut the centre for good.

The authority said that around £400,000 of essential build works would be needed to ensure the unit remains safe and fit for purpose. This is in addition to the annual cost of operating the service, which amounts to around £900,000.  

Concerns have also been raised about the impact of the new housing development around and close to the unit. The resulting loss of privacy has called into question the ongoing suitability of the site for the children that access the service.

Plans to close the unit came under fire from parents who used the service, including Lauren Freitas, whose six-year-old son Cohen has a rare genetic condition, said the unit provides vital support to her family.

READ MORE: Basingstoke mother left angry as council considers permanent closure of respite centre

At a decision day on Wednesday, October 19, Cllr Roz Chadd, the county council's deputy leader and executive lead member for children’s services, concluded that the centre should be permanently closed.

Head of county services Kieran Lyons said at the meeting: “We believe that we can provide alternative respite services and other alternative services that will meet the needs of disabled children that did and would of accessed Firvale in a much more cost-effective way, so we will be able to meet the needs of families and we will be able to make some of the savings we require for 2023.”

Cllr Chadd concluded: “I know that this is difficult for families and I completely understand how important that the respite care service is for families, but that unit has been closed for over two years and very much the world has changed in how we can provide that care for those children with technology becoming more advanced, there is the ability for children to stay at home.”

The meeting was told that of the children who accessed the unit, one has yet to be supported by a new service and is currently undergoing an assessment.

The unit is jointly operated with Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (HHFT). Of the nine beds available, five were used for social care provision by the county council while HHFT accesses the other four for health needs.  

Speaking after the meeting, Cllr Chadd said: “I absolutely understand how important respite services are for families of children and young people with disabilities and I can reassure those families that I have taken due account of their views, together with those of the wider public, members of staff and other key stakeholders, gathered through extensive consultation. I

“As the report highlights, since social care provision closed temporarily more than two and a half years ago, alternative respite services have been secured for all but one of the 26 families eligible for respite care at Firvale. All families have received ongoing alternative support and we are continuing to work closely with the one remaining family to put suitable future long-term provision in place.  

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“Children and young people with disabilities will continue to access a broad range of services that better meet their needs for respite care. Alongside ongoing investment in high quality overnight respite care from external providers, we will continue to focus on addressing families’ various challenges more directly, through specialist targeted services that support with issues such as poor sleep and behaviour, for example. This means that families will be able to benefit from a more effective and sustainable way of meeting their needs, both now and in the future.”