“Harmful” changes to adult social services in Kent have left hundreds of people with learning disabilities and those who work closely with them angry and disappointed.
Kent County Council has been accused of putting finances over its obligations to the Government’s programme to improve the rights, choices and independence of people with learning disabilities.
The authority said it is restructuring its adult social services department but the changes will not impact on ‘direct services’.
KCC supports around 2,000 adults with learning disabilities across the county.
Steven Chapman, co-chair of the Kent Partnership Board, which is made up of people with learning disabilities and influential people who work in the field, said: “If it was money coming off housing or something it would be different – people would be shouting out.
“Because it is people with learning disabilities they think it is alright.
“Unfortunately, as Oliver Mills found out at the meeting, people do care and do understand.”
Oliver Mills, director of Kent adult social services (KASS), held a meeting last week to explain the changes and answer questions from the 100-strong audience.
The partnership board sent a letter to Mr Mills, which expressed concerns over the restructure, on Wednesday.
It included a quote from the Government’s learning disability programme, Valuing People Now, to explain the board’s anger over KCC’s changes:
“The Government does expect other bodies - in particular local government and the NHS - to consult with partnership boards as their main source of information when planning and taking decisions that affect the lives of people with learning disabilities.”
According to the charity Mencap, a person with a learning disability finds it harder to learn, understand and communicate. There are associated conditions and many people with cerebral palsy also have a learning disability, about 30 per cent of people with a learning disability also have epilepsy and people with autism often have a learning disability.
All people with Down’s syndrome have some degree of a learning disability.
Chris Dillon, a board member, told Kent on Sunday: “They are taking control. It is like they are scared that people are getting too powerful and confident.”
Mr Mills said the authority would take the comments in the letter “very seriously indeed”.
“I met with the board to hear their views and answer questions,” he said.
“We have to follow legal requirements when proposing changes to the management structure which means consulting with staff first before sharing the proposal more widely.”
While ‘direct services’ may not be affected by the changes when management jobs are cut in the reshuffle, the way in which people with learning disabilities and those that work closely with them communicate with KCC will be changed.
At the moment there are 12 district partnership groups that report to and sit on the partnership board.
KASS wants to halve that number, a change that many see having a negative impact that will lead to fewer people getting their voices heard.
“These changes are going to be really harmful,” Ms Dillon said. “Oliver Mills is so high up and they do not understand the progress and see what people with disabilities can do and achieve now.”
The strategic development team at KCC has been overseeing the work of the board and of the district groups as well as working with projects in the community since 2001 to make sure that Valuing People Now happens in Kent.
The team will no longer exist after the restructuring.
Des Sowerby, its director is taking ‘voluntary’ redundancy, he said: “I am hurt and amazed.
“It feels like a nonsense and they have come up with these proposals which are undermining the work we have been doing for years.”
Mr Sowerby said people were angry because the reorganisation was being imposed too quickly.
He said: “I’ve been pressing to say we have got to get ourselves ready for Valuing People Now and making sure we start employing more people with learning disabilities and building up people’s knowledge but I have been held back because of this and we are not going to be ready.
“They [KCC] have resorted to the old fashioned way with a bunch of managers producing a plan when we have spent years saying we will do away with it so I understand why they are angry.
“It is like gratuitous violence - they do not have to do it this way.”
He added: “People realise that the world has to move and change but what they are saying is that it is not okay for the big cheeses at KCC to dictate it.”
KASS director Mr Mills added: “As part of this consultation we will continue listening and working with the partnership board and others when looking at the proposals. There is no intention in rushing through the process.
“The focus of the proposals is not to save money but to enable people with learning disabilities to decide how they want both district partnership boards [groups] and the Kent partnership board to be supported.”
POSTED: 21/12/2008 08:00:00
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