Save the Day Care Service at Helena Lane, Ludlow

I’m Marjorie. I’m 80 now. I have very severe physical disabilities. The Helena Lane Day Care Service in Ludlow is my absolute lifeline. The Day Care Service provides me with social, physical, and emotional care: with friendship; with a hot meal; with help to have a bath; with support and advice when I need it. My life is so much better because of this service – and Shropshire Council proposes to end it.

They’ve already run this service down and down – five days to three, full days to half days, staff numbers cut, transport to the Centre axed – and they’ve been TURNING AWAY people who want and need to use this level of care.  But now they give “low attendance” as a key reason for the proposal to close the service altogether!

I’m going to go completely ‘doo lally tap’ if I can’t go out anymore. I’m so scared that this is what they’re forcing on me. I can’t stand without assistance. I can’t climb stairs at all. I can’t reach for things on shelves or in cupboards. I can’t walk more than a few yards using my 4-wheel rollator. I depend on other people for my personal care. The service at Helena Lane is a central part of my life.

I wonder if Council’s consultation paper is straight from fairyland? This is what they’re offering me after they close the Day Care Service:

“Sit at home and rot” seems to be the plan for people like me. Please think about what I’ve said, and also please read the comments below from my friend Nino. Her husband has dementia and attends day care at Helena Lane.  She explains what closing the service will mean for people with dementia and their carers. We both think rural services matter - and Ludlow surely deserves better than this. 

Please, please sign this petition.

Like Marjorie, I'm furious that Shropshire Council intends to end the Day Care Service at Helena Lane. My husband has dementia and can't be left on his own now. A four-hour slot one day a week at Helena Lane is a godsend. It means he has that routine of social contact in a safe environment – and I get a little bit of time for me. I can’t begin to explain how important that is. Both of us would like him to attend Helena Lane for the three days a week they’re open – but they can't offer that because staff numbers have been cut. Ironic, really, when the Council wants to stop the service because of low demand!

The Council seems to think that voluntary services like Hands Together Ludlow can step in to replace Helena Lane. It’s a fantasy! We already know about these services and we use them – but they CANNOT substitute for skilled care from qualified staff. If the Helena Lane service goes, there will be no venue in Ludlow where someone with severe dementia can attend without their carer. That will be a huge loss – for people with dementia AND for carers.

There is already so little support. If this closure happens, it’s a disaster for Ludlow people affected by dementia.