Voyage Care Welcomes Lee Rowley MP to Witness The Power of Social Care Firsthand

Voyage Care, provider of care and support for people with learning and physical disabilities, brain injuries, autism and complex needs, recently welcomed Lee Rowley to visit its care and support facilities at Cecil Road Autism Specialist Service in Dronfield, Derbyshire.

Lee Rowley, MP for North East Derbyshire, met with people supported by Voyage Care and their support workers, and discussed what improvements they’d like to see in the sector to support them in living the life they choose.

Lee Rowley MP was given a tour of the Voyage Care home, meeting with team members and those who Voyage Care supports. He then spoke with Lyn Pickering, Manager, and Antonella Oliver, Managing Director to discuss key issues in adult social care.

A report published by the King’s Fund earlier this year highlighted several key challenges affecting the sector, including recruitment issues, funding and the cost of living crisis, all meaning sometimes people aren’t able to access the care they need. Voyage Care is focussed on reframing the debate around adult social care so that it focusses on those of working age being supported as much as those who are older or those needing to be discharged from hospitals.

Andrew Cannon, Chief Executive Officer at Voyage Care, said: “We see it as our duty to raise awareness of the issues that exist within social care. By inviting politicians and policy makers to meet with the people we support, we can showcase the extraordinary work our colleagues do every day to enable them to live as independently as possible.

“Enabling access to high quality specialist adult social care is fundamental to the lives of those we support and also helps to reduce the systemwide pressure on wider public services, such as the NHS, housing and other social care. Among our ideas is calling for the Government to introduce a new Commissioner for Adult Social Care with a legal mandate to promote and protect the rights of those relying on the adult social care system.”

Lee Rowley, MP for North East Derbyshire, said: “A huge thanks to Lyn and all of the team at Voyage Care for letting me visit the Cecil Road service. As the MP for Dronfield, its hugely important that I find out what is happening across the town, including work that not everyone sees every day. It was a real privilege to spend a bit of time at the service and to find out more.”