By John Sullivan,
Hi it's me again on the same topic I have been writing guest
blogs on for so long, the "Campaign
Against Destruction of Disability Services " in Barnet " Caddss" for short, and the need to return adult
services back in-house and rescue the
disabled people of Barnet from the incompetence of the Local Authority Trading
Company called Your Choice Barnet ( YCB ), who in conjunction with our local
councillor Rajput and 150k per annum LBB officer Kate Kennally, are in a race to
the bottom in the quality of care and therefore quality of life of disabled
people and those with a disability in Barnet.
On March 1st of this year YCB launched a new way forward
that leads to the bottom of the gutter in quality of care for disabled people,
the directors and Kate Kennally the 150 k plus officer that is supposed to care
for disabled people support this race to the bottom as does, I presume, the
forever silent councillor Rajput. This
way forward is borne not of a desire to improve the quality of life of service
users, but to get out of debt, debt that they have accumulated over just one
year of trading, based on a business plan that was an accident waiting to
happen. Now there rescue plan launched on March 1st has about as much chance of
success as the first failed car crash of a business plan, yet they press on
regardless. Over more than 40 years in-house services never got into debt never
had to replace skilled staff with any
unskilled Tom Dick or Harriet agency workers, so why after promising they would
bring service back in house if the business plan failed are they refusing to do
so, and launching a plan B instead without
meaningful consultation with interested parties, no doubt with their
fingers and toes firmly crossed.
I along with two other families instructed solicitors to
challenge the implementation of this March 1st document because we parents
carers and service users had not been consulted and there was no intention to
consult with us. In order to stop the legal action proceeding to judicial
review YCB undertook to consult with parents carers and service users, sadly
they have now reneged on that promise and are refusing to consult on the main
issue which is the restructuring of Staff, because the quality of the care is
determined by the quality and skills of the staff and nothing else. Our
concerns were demonstrated at information meetings arranged by YCB that they
have now conveniently re-named consultations. We are concerned with the demolition
of staff morale, staff working conditions, the removal of skilled workers being replaced by unskilled agency workers ,
and the reduction in staff numbers, yet they refuse to consult with us about
changes to the staffing restructure. We are supposed to take no interest in
what Tom Dick or Harriet looks after our children and wards, we are told that
replacing long term skilled staff with part time unskilled agency workers will
have no impact on services, a claim that is already being seen to have no
foundation in fact.
I am a founder member of CADDSS and as a consequence I
approached my fellow CADDSS members and suggested that we consider instructing
a professional person to review this March 1st disaster waiting to happen, in
order that we could get a balanced and professional overview of YCB from its
launch to today. As a consequence we instructed
Professor Dexter Whitfield a specialist in this field to review the March 1st
proposals, and as he had undertaken a review of the original business model and
condemned it and has been proven absolutely correct, we felt he was the right
man for the job.
That review has now been completed and I attach it in the
hope you will take the time to read it, and when you read it try to put
yourself in the shoes of the parents and family carers of the service users and
ask yourself a couple of questions. 1, How can the replacement of skilled staff
with unskilled agency workers not have an impact on the quality of the service
and therefore quality of life of service users, ( let me remind you
Winterbourne View occurred because they went down the rush to the bottom
standard of care and quality with unskilled staff to provide services on the
cheap ) . 2, How can that impact on service users not have anything to do with
the family carers or the service users, how can that possibly be none of our
business. We have a bunch of failed directors who have made a complete car
crash of the first business model, demanding that they know best and plan B
the March 1st document is the answer which
I hasten to add it is not . 3, If it
were your loved one or family member would you place your faith or trust in
these known failed directors without being afforded the opportunity to question
them in an open and transparent forum. 4, If you were a parent or a family
carer and your family member was involved , would you expect to be consulted on
staff changes , because at the risk of repeating myself, the reality is and
there is no question about it, the quality of care for these vulnerable folk is
dependent solely on the quality and skills of the staff and nothing else.
I have many other questions I could go on forever but let me
ask you this simple question, If what is proposed and is currently being
implemented by YCB/LBB is in the interests as they claim of service users ,
parents and family carers, why are they refusing to meaningfully consult with
us in an open and transparent way, which leads to me to the question what are
they trying to hide.
Please read the CADDSS review by Professor Whitfield http://barnetalliance.org/2013/07/21/the-way-out-of-financial-crisis
I ask you to do this before the LBB lie machine goes into
overdrive and condemns every person
supporting bringing adult services back in-house to ensure the safety
and quality of life of service users parents and carers, who they will brand left wing loonies that are just trying to stir
up trouble with no justification which is completely untrue.
This balanced report by Professor Whitfield nips that lie
machine in the bud, it provides a myriad of reasons why YCB has failed and will
continue to fail, and affords substantial reasoning for bringing adult services
back in-house both financial and moral reasons. When you have read it and if
you agree we have genuine cause for concern, then please offer us your support
by contacting CADDSS and telling us what you think and feel. cadds1@gmail.com
My final question is , if you were in my place with a nearly
fifty year old daughter with Down's Syndrome and the Grim Reaper hanging his axe over your head,
would you like me be concerned to know " what will happen to her when I
die ", that is all I am asking " what will happen to her when I die
", and apparently according to YCB/LBB that is none of my business, and I
have no right to be meaningfully consulted in an open forum where all interested
parties are invited, I repeat what
worries me the most is why will they not meaningfully consult, what is it they
are hiding from us.
What is happening now whist I am alive to protect my
daughter is bad enough in this democracy free zone more commonly known as
Broken Barnet, that avoids meaningful consultation as if it were a strain of
leprosy. But the question remains
nagging in my brain twisting my mind destroying my peace of mind "
what will happen to her when I die ", not I would suggest an unreasonable
question.
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