A few days ago, we had a meeting at our daughters Day Time Support Centre in Kidlington, along with other parents, to discuss the full impact and meaning about this dreadful Day Time Support Consultation which OCC are trying to implement in order to save money. 

We have a daughter with multiple disability and learning disability (cerebral haemorrhage four days after she was born). She lives with us in her own home. Always has. She is 44years of age and since 19years of age has attended Kidlington day Services.

Our daughter is non-verbal, partially sighted, cerebral palsy quadriplegic, wheelchair bound, totally dependent on others for safety, health, feeding, speaking etc etc

This amazing day Centre have totally dedicated and extremely experienced staff who have known and understood our daughters very complex needs over many many years. One extremely important fact when you are caring for a person with all these complex and diverse needs is that she (and others) need absolute continuity and consistency with their daily life patterns as well as their individual personal needs. CHANGE is MASSIVE for our daughter (and others) and whenever there is change it massively affects her anxiety levels and goes on to produce serious mental health issues.

The changes proposed by OCC are appalling and discriminatory, The proposal indicates that the Kidlington Day Service will be closed............the staff will be dispersed (if there are places for them)......all our daughters peer group to be removed from one another and sent to different centres.........and our daughter to be sent to a local day centre in Bicester where there will be elderly with Dementia and Alzheimer's. How can this be suitable for the elderly people, and please tell me, how can this be safe for everyone concerned, especially our daughter????? Our daughter is an extremely vulnerable adult. So..........if all this happens, as the OCC is proposing to implement, our daughter then will be taken away from her very familiar (24years) place of safety and pleasure.......taken away from her friends that have built up over 24years......taken away from staff who know exactly how to care for her very very complex needs, and know how to communicate and understand her communications needs.....sent to a very strange place.......amongst people she doesn't know, has never met before, and who will not understand her and how she communicates......amongst staff who will not know how to care for her, how to support her and how to understand her.

We are totally and utterly devastated for our daughter, utterly fearful for her, and extremely angry to say the least that the OCC could even think this can be done to adults who have no voice, cannot express their choices, and over many years have made deep and meaningiful bonds wiith friends and staff alike which will be snatched away from them.

The Human Rights Act is a UK law passed in 1998. It states - "Public Organisations such as the Government, the Police and all Local Councils must treat EVERYONE EQUALLY, with fairness, dignity and respect. ALL human beings have the right to life, liberty, freedom of thought and speech/expression, equality before the law, social culture and economic rights".
The Disability Discrimination Act of 2005 states - "It is unlawful for an authority to discriminate against a disabled person. Section 21G states "the meaning of discrimination - an association discriminates against a disabled person if a) for a reason which relates to the persons disability the association treats him/her less favorably than it treats or would treat others to whom that reason does not or would not apply , it cannot show that the treatment in question is justified" (For example - the proposed OCC's consultation to save money at the cost of a disabled persons mental health well being).
Section 31 Ac states about "violating a disabled persons dignity"
Just a couple of statements from the Discrimination Act 2005. I could quote more.

How is it possible that a Council can make a decision to axe massively important day centres which create such desperately needed safe and respectful havens for adults who have no voice, are extremely vulnerable, and are physically, sexually, emotionally, mentally and psychologically at major risk???

OCC are putting my daughters life, and the lives of her friends, at risk. We shall hold them totally responsible for any deterioration into decline of any mental health problems.

I am appealing to you all PLEASE PLEASE intervene. This just cannot happen

OCC have absolutely NO idea what the daily lives of these adults with severe learning disability and complex needs are like. They have NO idea what this will do to them. 

To think...........OCC's logo is...... "working for you".......what an absolute joke!!

Where are the human rights of adults with a learning disability???