[ad_1]
Residents of evacuation housing in Ealing demonstrated outside Ealing Council’s offices in a bid to force the Labor-run council to scrap plans to abolish the Ealing Careline service.
Emergency Support Services, which are used by thousands of elderly, vulnerable and disabled residents, provides a pull code or push button emergency call service to those who need it.
The service is scheduled to close within the next few days and the council has communicated with service users that they will need to find an alternative provider.
Trade union Unison previously wrote to the city council expressing concern about the loss of 15 staff who responded to 124,000 alarms and incidents in the past year and the closure of the service. Ta.
Activists say service users are left at a loss and given confusing information about alternatives that are not said to provide the same level of service as what is currently being offered.
Evacuated housing residents from community association ACORN, together with representatives from the Evacuated Housing Action Committee and Ealing Reclaim Social Care Action Group, visited council offices to address councillors, and to support Ealing Careline. They asked for the closure decision to be revoked.
The demonstrators spoke to Councilor Bassam Mahfouz, cabinet member for safe and truly affordable housing, who the activists claimed had agreed to meet to discuss the issue. There is.
Paul Williams, national organizer for ACORN, said: They seem rushed, thoughtless, and bad at communicating. We will continue to support our members, who are Ealing Careline users, in their campaigns until a solution is found. ”
ACORN member and shelter resident Brian Rose, 74, said: “We are left at a loss by the council’s decision to end the service without giving due consideration to securing a suitable alternative.” He is being placed in a situation.” I am particularly concerned about my brother who is also an Ealing Careline user. He has a mental disorder. I am his carer and he has not been informed of suitable alternative services. ”
Mr Rose added: “The council has not been given sufficient time for the review to be carried out by the adult social care department and we do not know what will happen when the careline service ends.”
Maggie Behan, secretary of Ealing Reclaim Social Care Action Group (ERSCAG), said: “This decision will put elderly and disabled people who rely on services at serious risk. The City Council must either reverse the decision or at least ensure that people who need a 24/7 alert system have a similar system. Its implementation must be suspended until the service is secured.”
Another resident who will be affected by the closure of Ealing Careline is Clive, 64, who is recovering from cancer. He said: “I’m in my 60s and recovering from cancer, but I’m concerned about the more vulnerable residents.”
She added: “I know people who have used CareLine and pull cords to save lives, including one who passed out due to muscular dystrophy. When a friend found out, they pulled the emergency cord and waited for 10 minutes. Emergency services arrived within. Without an emergency code, a situation like this could be deadly. City Council must reassure us that our emergency services will be protected. .”
Ealing Green Party leader Neil Reynolds told EALING.NEWS: Cutting services like Careline doesn’t save you money in the long run. As a result, vulnerable people will be forced into residential facilities and hospitals. ”
Mr Reynolds added: “The Green Party supports funding local authorities to help vulnerable residents get the support they need in their own homes. It is often in the best interests of residents and taxpayers. It’s a method.”
[ad_2]
Source link
Leave a Reply