“We won’t stop fighting” – relatives fight back against Leonard Cheshire Disability care home closure

Carl Outram facing an uncertain future when Leonard Cheshire Disability care home closes

Relatives of Leonard Cheshire Disability care home residents have vowed to “keep fighting” against the closure of the home, saying that there is nowhere for the residents to go.

Rochdale Online revealed last week (Wednesday 27 January) that the home, which provides specialist care to severely disabled residents of all ages, is to close its doors in March, leaving 22 disabled residents without a home.

http://www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/2/news-headlines/100689/leonard-cheshire-disability-announces-closure-of-littleborough-care-home

Following this report, a petition has been set up in an attempt to fight back against the closure, which has so far gathered over 250 online and handwritten signatures.

Hayley Outram, whose brother Carl is currently being cared for in the home, says the end of the home will have a devastating effect on not only the residents, but the families left to care for them. She said: “My brother has been in the home for three years now and he is really settled there. He is quite dependent and needs specialist care. We just don’t know what we’re going to do, nobody knows. It is a really stressful time for everyone but there isn’t much we can do.

“The residents aren’t getting a say in anything. There was a meeting the other day and apparently they weren’t getting a word in. I don’t think it’s being taken into account just how much people are going to be affected by it.”

Hayley’s brother, Carl Bland, is unable to communicate verbally and has to rely on a wheelchair to get around. He is one of 22 residents from the home who still doesn’t have an alternative place of residence.”

The home is set to close down at the end of March.

To sign the petition, visit:

https://www.change.org/p/mrs-hayley-outram-stop-closure-of-leonard-cheshire-learning-disability-honresfeld-littleborough