Massive blow for sufferers and carers as Town Hall reveals latest victim of ‘Coalition’s cuts’

Published: 10 February, 2011
by TOM FOOT

Dementia day centre closure shock

dementia sufferers are facing potentially devastating changes after details of a shock plan to close a cherished day centre were unveiled.

The Netherwood Centre in West Hampstead has been singled out as the latest casualty of £16million cuts to the Town Hall’s adult social care budget.

Council chiefs said this week the coalition government has forced the decision to close the 25-year-old building that was designed specifically for the day-to-day needs of around 35 dementia patients.

Adult social care chief Councillor Pat Callaghan was “almost reduced to tears” at the upset reaction of  carers and patients, according to those attending a meeting in the centre in Netherwood Street on Monday where Town Hall officials broke the news.

The campaign to keep Netherwood open has already collected 400 names on a petition. Carer Naomi Rimmon, a businesswoman and real estate expert who looks after her mother, said: “What we heard from the meeting is that this is a done deal. Netherwood is a lifeline for the people that use it. It is like taking a dialysis machine away from a hospital.”

The vulnerable sufferers, including some veterans of the Second World War, will be forced to scramble for places in Raglan House, Kentish Town. But the council admits there will not be enough spaces to go round.

Carers told the New Journal that any significant changes to routine for elderly dementia patients – who live under a cloud of fear and uncertainty brought about by acute memory loss – would have severe consequences.

Carer Connie Casey said the building had made an “immense difference” to her 70-year-old stepfather, add­ing: “He becomes agitated if there is any change to his routine and I know that he will be very distressed if he cannot continue to attend Netherwood.”

Netherwood provides a secure and familiar environment open five days a week with art and painting classes, a huge garden and special “quiet” rooms.

Drivers collect patients  from their homes in two large vans and take them to the centre, which also organises trips to museums and parks across the capital.

Family members said they too “depended” on Netherwood and that it had been a “godsend”.

The council argues that centralising services into Kentish Town improve “personalisation” and also improve average journey times for dementia patients.

Carers said they were concerned that Raglan House – split over two upper floors with no garden – had no “wandering space” for patients.

Ms Rimmon added: “It is part of the illness that people wander. They have got to be able to move themselves around in a safe environment. If you try to restrain them they become aggressive.”

Cllr Callaghan said: “We feel we have come up with a series of changes which provide the best value for money.”

According to council documents closing Netherwood will save an estimated £250,000 each year. A consultation runs until March 17.