VIOLENCE IN DAY CENTRES AS MANAGERS IGNORE ADVICE IN RUSH TO SLASH COSTS TO VULNERABLE

Bristol City Council’s residential care services for the elderly and day care services for adults with learning difficulties are in CRISIS after a botched reorganisation designed to slash costs.

Contrary to all advice, council care bosses VARETA BRYAN and SHEENA HUGGINS have created three ‘supercentres’ for day care where they bring together elderly dementia care patients and people with learning difficulties. Some of the adults with learning difficulties exhibit challenging behaviour, which can be violent.

At one ‘supercentre’ – the 600 CLUB in Knowle – at least ten workers are off sick – one third of the entire staff team. Someone has already been seriously hurt and had their FRONT TEETH KICKED IN. Would you want your granny in this place?

LOCKLEAZE DAY CENTRE has seventeen workers off. That’s nearly 50% of the workforce and managers will not get agency staff in to cover the gap because of budget cuts. Recently a service user had a seizure and the keys to the drug cabinet could not be found.

At the last of the new ‘supercentres’ in ST GEORGE there is no proper kitchen; the toilets are too small for staff to help with the personal needs of the service users and seating is not fit for the elderly with dementia. An insider told The BRISTOLIAN: “The whole service is a car crash. Someone will die soon. All down to penny-pinching.”

Managers, we are told, are now planning a social enterprise for these under-resourced services so they no longer have to be responsible for them… Nice.