Family Launches Petition To Save North Wales Disability Charity ‘On Brink’
A desperate family have launched a petition calling on the Welsh Government to step in and save a lifeline disability charity facing a funding crisis.
Laura and Mark Bugby, from Bala, fear for the future care of their severely disabled son, John, if Anheddau – which supports 140 from across Gwynedd, Conwy, Anglesey, Denbighshire and Wrexham – is forced to shut its doors.
The organisation, which has helped people with autism, learning disabilities, mental health conditions and complex needs for more than 35 years is battling soaring costs.
It’s revealed that it’s staring at a £400,000 shortfall due to rises in the Real Living Wage and National Employer Contributions – leaving 400 jobs hanging in the balance.
According to Anheddau, it’s facing a “ticking timebomb” over the funding and says it may be forced to consider making redundancies in October unless local authorities provide a rescue package to cover its additional costs.
Laura Bugby, who works for the community dental service, said the survival of Anheddau was essential for her son’s health and happiness, and praised the work of the charity’s staff.
She said: “John has lived in an Anheddau supported house for 11 years, and before that he lived at home with us until he was 19.
“John has a severe learning disability and his house is provided by a housing association and he lives there with another two residents.
“Anheddau provides the 24-hour support that he needs.
“The charity’s staff make sure that he is fed, that he’s washed, they do all the personal care.
“They provide him one-to-one care in the house and the two-to-one care that he has to have when he’s out in the community.
“Thanks to Anheddau he leads a completely meaningful life, we have an excellent relationship with them.
“Some of the staff have changed over the years and some have stayed – and they are all marvellous.”
Laura said she had fears over how well John would be cared for if Anheddau’s funding crisis meant the charity could no longer look after him.
She said: “I worry that the care that John would receive wouldn’t be anywhere near the quality that it is now.
“We know that Anheddau provides exceptional training and ongoing training for their staff which other care companies don’t provide.
“It is reflected in the type of care they provide and also the quality of the care.
“John doesn’t really have a fit with his epilepsy now because he is so well cared for.
“He hardly ever has a seizure which is a reflection again on how happy and how well cared for he is.”
The family feel so strongly about the survival of Anheddau that John’s older sister Rebecca has launched a petition on the Welsh Parliament’s website.
The petition, which can be found at https://petitions.senedd.wales/petitions/246703 urges the Welsh Government to ensure funding it gives to councils for charities is fully passed through to the organisations.
It also calls for the Welsh Government to enforce fair commissioning standards, engage with providers on funding impacts and commit to long-term reform to protect essential care services.
If 10,000 people sign the petition, it will be considered for debate in the Senedd.
Anheddau’s Chief Executive Claire Higgins warned the charity’s plight was now dire.
She said: “We’ve made enormous efficiencies within the organisation but we’re still in need of that additional funding commitment from the local authorities.
“I have given them until the end of September to give me that commitment, because that is the point where I need to make a decision about the future of the organisation. That’s the bleak position we are in. If we have to close, then October is when we have to start the redundancy consultation with staff.
“If we make redundancies we will be able to keep ticking over, but it’s hand-to-mouth for us now. And if we do get through to April, I hope there will be no more tax increases.”
Claire explained the charity was facing an 11 per cent deficit in its costs and said an 8.8 per cent increase in funding from the local authorities is the minimum it needs to survive.
She added: “Necessarily, we’ve been advocating strongly with local authorities. I am hopeful. But by the end of September if the councils say ‘no’, the only way we can survive is by making redundancies. Then it will be incredibly tight next year and can we continue after April is going to be the big question.”
Mario Kreft MBE, chair of Care Forum Wales, said Anheddau’s financial crisis was another example of the funding challenges faced across the independent social care sector.
He said: “Worryingly, Anheddau’s plight is far from unique because the very same issues are affecting all independent social care providers in Wales.
“The 37 per cent increase in the cost of National Insurance employers’ contribution is hitting social care particularly hard.
“As a policy it’s counterintuitive and doesn’t make any sense because it’s hitting social care particularly hard and when social care sneezes the NHS catches a cold.
“Unless local councils find additional funding, we are facing a major catastrophe that is going to affect thousands of vulnerable people in every corner of the nation.
