Care Crisis

Argus title : If we can afford to go to war, we should pay for care of the disabled

The Palmeira Project for young people with severe learning disabilities and challenging behaviour was set up in the mid 1990s. It functioned successfully for many years, but earlier this year, it was axed.

Councillors who made the decision were informed that the needs of the young people who formed the Project’s client base had changed and were no longer so severe as to warrant the level of care provided there. The enlarged project at Drove Road would, they were told, provide better for the young people’s needs.

They seem not to have to have taken into consideration an increasing body of research which indicates that rates of autism are increasing exponentially, and therefore that the need for specialised residential accommodation is also likely to grow. Continue reading