Littlehampton mum’s fear over care cuts

Evelyn Rhodes, of Irvine Road, fears that her daughter, Gillian, who has learning difficulties, could end up needing 24-hour care if West Sussex County Council plans to cut the funding for her support go ahead.

“She will regress without that help and support.

“Last time she tried to make it on her own, she ended up in a mental health hospital for three months,” said Evelyn.

“I am in my 70s, and can’t keep on watching her forever, I won’t be around forever.”

Every day help

Gillian who has had a brain injury from birth, lives in an independent living establishment, in Merchant Road, Bognor, run by the Aldingbourne Trust.

The trust gives Gillian, 45, one or two hours’ help every day, with cooking, shopping and managing her money, and it is this support that would be taken away if the county council’s changes to adult social services, which would cut funding to those classed as being in “moderate” need, go ahead.

The council says that, if the changes went ahead, everyone in the moderate band would be reassessed before funding was cut, but this was not good enough, said Evelyn.

“People with learning difficulties are very good at masking their disability.

“If you saw Gillian in the street, you would think she was not different to anyone else.”

Greater needs

A county council spokeswoman said as the authority had to save £79m over the next three years, it had to “target funding to people with the greatest needs”, and that it would continue to fund “substantial and critical levels of need”.

She added: “Currently more than 70 percent of English councils only meet substantial and critical needs.

“The council will be working with voluntary and community organisations to find different ways of supporting individuals who are no longer eligible for funded social care, and £1m of funding will be invested into this.”

The proposals will go to the adults’ services select committee on March 1, and a final decision will be taken by the cabinet member for adults’ service, Peter Catchpole, later that month.