Huge blow to 60 families as vital respite care is axed

Scores of families across Meath who depend on respite care provided by the Owl's Nest facility in Kells were left in turmoil this week with the news that the centre is no longer providing temporary care. Many of those affected say the service provided a vital break for exhausted carers who spend 24 hours a day, seven days a week, caring for adult family members with intellectual disabilities. A number of families across the county have been left distraught by the news, describing it as a "terrible blow". The HSE has confirmed that the respite service for adults with intellectual disabilities in Meath is temporarily unavailable due to the need to accommodate a number of service users requiring emergency residential placements on a full-time basis. East Meath Families and Friends, a support group for adults with intellectual disability, said they were appalled at the removal of respite services, which affects over 60 families in the Meath area. Spokesman John Clarke, Julianstown, said the withdrawal of respite will severely test the wellbeing of everyone concerned. "International research shows that very frequent respite for families ensures, in most cases, that they do not have to contemplate full-time residential care until much later, thus saving the government and health authorities vast sums of money." Mr Clarke said that a great service had been provided at the Owl's Nest and that it was a lifeline or many families, who would now face grave difficulties coping. He said that, in his own case, his daughter, Orla, has to be minded round the clock. "My wife and I cannot do simple things like go for a walk on the beach on a summer's evening. Somebody always has to be at home. "The Owls Nest used to give us a break every six week sor so," he said. "Orla loved it there and is disappointed that she won't be going and doesn't understand why this is." Patsy Smith from Ashbourne said she didn't know how her family would cope. Her son, Brian, is 38 but has the mind of a three or four year-old and they are totally dependant on the Owls Nest for respite care. Both she and her husband are on medication and she shares the care of her 92 year-old mother with her sister, so Brian's short stays at the Owl's Nest represented a much-deserved break for all of them. "We don't know what we will do. This is such a shock. Brian loved going in. It was a little break for him, too," she said. Patsy and her husband have to wash and dress Brian and, as he suffers from severe epilepsy, they have a baby alarm monitoring him through the night in case he gets a seizure. Liam Mongey's severely autistic daughter has to be watched around the clock and respite was the only break his family got. "She has no speech, isn't toilet trained and, as long as she is awake, somebody has to be with her and she even sometimes wakes during the night," he said. "This is a terrible blow. Respite care was the only break we got," he said. A spokesperson for the HSE said Meath Disability Services is currently commissioning a new seven-bed respite service for adults with intellectual disabilities at Ivy Hall, Proudstown Road, Navan. "It is hoped to open this service later this year, once the resources required to do so are secured from within the service. As soon as the resources are secured, the service will open. The HSE is currently examining all possible options to expedite the opening of the service," the spokesperson said. "Meath Disability Services wishes to assure all service-users and their families that the opening of the new respite facility is the number one priority for the service at this time," she added.