Brain Injuries Carers Given A Week’s Notice To Quit Centre

An Exmouth brain injuries day-centre has been given a week to vacate its premises, and the carers say their patients have nowhere else to go. Headway Devon has used the Marjorie Moore centre at Danby House, run by Devon County Council, in Mudbank Lane for weekly Thursday-morning sessions since 2000.

But following a review, the council will close Danby House, causing Headway to move for the fourth time in 10 years.

Headway Devon’s chief executive Anne Mattock said the county council had reneged on previous assurances. “We feel a little let down,” she said. “We were promised we wouldn’t have to move until new permanent premises were found.

“They said last week that we had to be out within the next two weeks. We understand why, but we were promised a new venue and none has been found. The situation leaves staff feeling uncertain and clients feeling unsettled.”

Bruce Meyer, 58, a former Royal Marine, has suffered from epilepsy since 1999, and cannot work. “Some here have had strokes so I consider myself quite lucky. For many this will be a real upheaval,” he said. “If you can’t work you cut off a means of making new friends. This is difficult for me but very traumatic for others.”

A spokesman for the county council said: “Danby House is the only residential home for adults with physical disabilities in Devon. “The services are limited and do not meet the needs of the wider population with physical disabilities and acquired brain injuries. We want to work closely with the private and voluntary sectors to provide community-based services, housing schemes and supported living arrangements that help people live more independently.

“The changes are about giving people more opportunities and doing different things in the community. We’ve got the Beach Hub right in the centre of Exmouth, where people with learning disabilities can go, and we’ve also still got the Doyle Centre which provides support for people with more complex care needs.

“The building is old, and doesn’t meet the purpose for which we’re using it, which in the longer term is why we’d like to find somewhere closer to town, probably smaller, that will be designed to meet fully people’s care needs. We’re not talking about cuts in social care. We are talking about different and better ways of providing that social care.”