Councillors told 'shame on you' as desperate carers condemn Birmingham day centre closures

Meeting disrupted as exhausted loved ones used as 'cheap labour' to look after most vulnerable as more cuts confirmed by council

Frustrated carers turned on councillors and accused them of 'sitting in your comfortable jobs and not caring about us' in a dramatic outburst after plans to close four adult day centres were confirmed. Jean Cross, full-time carer to her brother Robert, who is severely disabled, spoke out angrily after the council leadership voted to shut four of the nine day centres in the city.

She shouted at the Labour leaders in the middle of this morning's Cabinet meeting: "Shame on all you. You are closing my brother's day centre after 43 years." Coun John Cotton, leader of the council, tried to return to the agenda against muted chants of 'don't shut the day centres', while Jean took up the case again: "It took me 20 minutes to get Robert in a lift to get up to this meeting.

"Imagine what that is like, every day. You think we can just get out in society and on and off buses, it's rubbish." A second carer, 76, told how she was sole carer for John, 57, who is in a wheelchair.

READ MORE: Tears and fury as axe falls on four day centres for disabled adults in Birmingham

She told how she was exhausted, and John relied on her entirely for his care, with the Harborne centre providing a lifeline. "You are insulting us. You are in your comfortable jobs and you just don't care." She added heartbreakingly: "I have nothing to live for other than him. We deserve better."

The council leadership was meeting to sign off plans to close four centres located at:

• Beeches GoLDD, 174 Beeches Road, Great Barr, Birmingham, B42 2HN
• The Fairway, 2 The Fairway, Kings Norton, B38 8XJ
• Harborne Day Centre, 370 West Boulevard, Quinton, Birmingham, B32 2PG
• Heartlands Day Centre, 6 Inkerman Street, B7 4SB

Residents like Robert will be offered alternative places and transport to one of the five locations that remain, amid hopes those settings will be rejuvenated by an influx of fresh faces and more staff. The proposals aim to save the broke council some £1.95 million this year.

Families directly affected sat at the back of Committee Room 3 in the Council House while the Cabinet met to discuss the plans to save nearly £2 million by closing the centres. Council cabinet member for adult social care, Coun Rob Pocock, opened the debate by setting out why the council had concluded the four centres should close, adding it was a positive step that the council was keeping open five when many other councils had abandoned an in-house service.

He said no redundancies of staff would follow; nor would any user who wanted to use a day centre be refused a place. He also condemned 'rumours' that suggested users would have transport taken away, or would not have access to the services they needed.

Jean, continuing to address the councillors, told them: "I don't have an expensive day package (for Robert's care), we have the day centre five-days-a-week where Robert can go, we don't have carers coming in daily, it is just me, cheap labour. All we ask in return is very little.

"You don't understand. We know there is another day centre elsewhere but you don't get how hard it is, you think we just pick them up and move them to a different setting, but it's not that easy. The disruption we face is awful."

While John's relative told them: "At 4am this morning I had three fire engines at my house - his lift had burnt out. I am going home with him now and I don't know when I will get to bed. Last week I spent two nights on a two-seater couch with him on a mattress because I couldn't get him upstairs on my own, and you are all sitting there saying you are doing your best.

"No way, no way. Practise what you preach. You don't care about us."

In his report Coun Pocock pledged the council and the Adult Social Care Directorate 'want the best quality of life for all our citizens and as a part of this we are committed to improving and transforming our day centres for adults with disabilities. The closure of four centres will save £1.95m this year.