Disabled care centre is reprieved

12.00.00am GMT Tue 11th Mar 2008

A day care centre which looks after adults with learning difficulties has won a temporary reprieve from closure.

Canolfan Segontium in Caernarfon in Gwynedd which cares for 24 adults on weekdays was to close in September after a council committee decision.

But the decision went before a full council meeting after enough councillors combined to object. Parents who campaigned against the closure have welcomed the decision, but expressed concern about the future.

Social services portfolio holder councillor Dai Rees Jones said the closure decision was taken so that the level of care offer could be improved according to the needs of the individual. However, the closure was debated again before the full council after enough councillors signed a declaration. The full meeting decided to defer the closure of the Canolfan Segontium building, and to continue to support the current service there, until other suitable services are identified for the people who use it.

Wil Parry Williams, whose daughter Rhian Mai, 37, attends Segontium, welcomed the decision, but said he was still concerned about the future. "I'm happy that the councillors seem have listened to us, but still feel uncertain about what will be offered to us. They want to send those who attend Segontium to places which cater for people with medium disabilities. I'd be delighted if Rhian would be able to do that, but we have to be realistic," he added.

Mr Parry Williams compared the move to "closing intensive care wards and moving patients to a general ward".

"I still feel there is a need for another unit to cater for those who attend Segontium," he added.