Family day marks opening of newly refurbished respite unit
- see caption at foot of page.
An Exeter short breaks respite care centre will be celebrating its re-opening with a special family day, on Saturday, 23 July.
Meadowpark, based in Shillingford St George, near Exeter, is a short breaks respite unit for children with physical disabilities and complex health needs, which cares for young children up to their 18th birthday. It gives parents and carers a break from caring, whilst providing the children and young people with an enjoyable experience and chance to socialise with their peers outside their own homes. It provides a more specialist facility for families in the area, which replaces the service formerly provided at Honeylands in Exeter, which now has a newly built specialist assessment centre on the Vranch site.
The centre has been refurbished using funding from Devon County Council’s Aiming High for Disabled Children grant and NHS Devon as part of a programme to improve overnight short breaks across the county, providing more support for children and greater flexibility for families, accessibility to a wider age range and better assessment of need and emergency support.
Councillor Andrea Davis, Devon County Council's lead member for children, said: "In looking at the services we provide for children with a range of special needs across the region, we have designed a menu of specialist residential services in the county, to better meet the requirements of the families who use them.
"Meadowpark now offers a modern, bright and spacious 'home from home' in which children and young people can socialise with their peers and use the superb range of equipment it now provides."
To celebrate the reopening, a family day will give families and organisations involved in the centre a chance to view the new facility. Families attending the event will be able to enjoy face-painting, arts activities organised by Magic Carpet, food and drink and the official reopening of the centre. The event is being supported by Interserve, the contractors that carried out the construction of the unit.
Boasting the latest equipment for the children who use it, the centre now provides a broad range of children with special needs the best possible care and opportunities during their short breaks. The centre is fully equipped with hoist, specialist beds, adapted bathroom equipment and height adjustable kitchen units.
Glenn Lobb, Residential and Community Family Support Service Manager from Integrated Children's Services, said: "Devon County Council and NHS commissioners have been working together for some years now, to develop the provision of overnight short breaks across Devon.
"Meadowpark is the last unit to be refurbished and we are very pleased with the outcome and design of all four units in Devon. They now provide a modern environment and equipment to enable us to fully support young people with a varity of additional needs, and their families, through overnight short breaks."
The unit also has a new, purpose-built bus brought through the Aiming High for Disabled Children grant. This allows for the children to be cared for in an environment where they are able to take part in as many activities and opportunities as possible.
Sue Smith is a parent of a child who uses Meadowpark. "Since the alterations have been made I'm really impressed," she said.
"The bedrooms are nice and big. I'm really pleased with it, and my son enjoys it. They've got some nice plans for the future, a sensory garden and a memorial garden, and they have a full observation room which they didn't have at Honeylands."
Caption: Glenn Lobb, family support service manager, presents Beryl Perrin, Devon County Council's children's services commissioner, with a bouquet of flowers at the fun day to mark the opening of Meadowpark children's respite centre in Exeter.
