GMB meet to step up fight against proposed closures of specialist centres caring for older people in East Sussex
We all have a duty to help fight to keep these services fully open and within local authority control says GMB
GMB organised a meeting last evening (19th August) at the Ore Community Centre in Hastings with Carers, Councillors and Labour Candidate Sarah Owen attending with a view to step up the campaign to save centres providing specialist care for older people suffering from dementia.
GMB is shocked at the East Sussex Council consultation to potentially close the Phoenix Centre in Lewes, Charter Centre in Bexhill, Orion Centre in Hailsham, Pinehill and the Isabel Blackman Centre in Hastings. They have a combined capacity for 137 people every day.
The 31-bed care home Mount Denys in Hastings could also close and be replaced by service run by a not-for profit company.
Rachel Verdin, GMB Organiser, said:
“The government promised that front line services would be saved from the cuts but this is not the case in East Sussex.
These centres provide a range of invaluable support for individuals and their families which must be fought for.
Members concerned for service users not their own job speaks volumes about the essential nature of these centres and the excellent care that they provide.
We all have a duty to help fight to keep these services fully open and within local authority control.
GMB will do all we can and hope that the public will get behind us to save these vital services”.
