Health Minister opens new centres in Newry for people with disabilities

25/01/2012

The Minister for Health, Edwin Poots, today officially opened two new centres in Newry for people with disabilities.

Windsor Day Centre is a £3.7million purpose-built facility providing day care for 39 adults with learning disabilities. Carrickore Children’s Respite Unit is a £2.5million facility providing respite care for eight children and young people with a disability and/or challenging behaviour from ages 4 to 18 years.

Mr Poots said: "Improving services for those with a learning disability has been one of my top priorities since I became Minister for Health. It has been my Department’s policy for a number of years to encourage and support people with learning disabilities to live in a community setting such as provided by Windsor Day Centre.

"The Centre not only offers a welcome and modern environment for users and staff in the new building, it also provides a range of activities which may lead to other opportunities for users, including workforce training."

Referring to the new respite unit, the Minister added: “Respite care is the most important thing we can offer to families and carers supporting dependent relatives at home. This is doubly important in the case of young people and adults with learning disability who need opportunities for social interaction, for stimulation and for improvement in independence.

"The Carrickore facility does just that and, moreover, allows parents and carers the necessary respite, knowing that their children are being looked after in a warm and caring professional environment."

Windsor Day Centre places emphasis on a person centred approach providing a range of activities which aim to meet the personal, developmental, emotional and social needs of its service users.

The Carrickore respite unit ensures that individual and flexible care plans are in place for each young person. Also the unit offers short breaks for children with a disability and their families for up to 90 days per year.

Minister Poots concluded: "These two facilities are an excellent example of co-operation between professionals and service users and what can be achieved when we work together for the good of our clients."

Southern Trust Chair Roberta Brownlee welcomed the Health Minister, users, carers and local Councillors to Windsor Day Centre, and said, “I am delighted that service users were involved in the design of the Centre. Current and former staff at Newry Social Education Centre played a vital role in the planning process. This is very important to the users, staff and the Trust. This building provides state-of-the-art facilities and has brought day care on this site into the 21st Century. This amazing building will have a powerful impact on service users and staff creating the setting for many wonderful opportunities in the future."

Speaking at the official opening of Carrickore, Mairead McAlinden, Chief Executive of the Southern Health and Social Care Trust which runs the Respite Unit in partnership with Orana Children and Family Centre said: "In an arrangement unique to the UK, Carrickore children and families have the best of both worlds in their devoted staff team made up from the Trust and Orana. We also greatly value the support from our Parent/Carer Group who continually guide us in improving the service. The greatest testimony of Carrickore’s success I have heard was from a parent who compared her child’s respite experience here to a sleepover with friends and told me that the staff feel like family who really care."

In delivering the vote of thanks at Carrickore, Sr Paula Carron, Chairperson of the Board of Directors of Orana Children and Family Centre said : "When reflecting on the significance of this occasion I was reminded of the words of Martin Luther King ' If you lose hope, somehow you lose the vitality that keeps life moving, you lose that courage to be, that quality that helps you go on in spite of it all'. I know It is the hope of all of us here present that Carrickore will be an oasis for children and families where hopes and dreams can be nourished and realized. The way forward is clear we need to hear the voices of children and parents telling us what type of services will meet family needs in a holistic way."