Louise Yates, a carer for her mother- who has dementia- responds to Councillor Saqib Farooq’s letter published in the Peterborough Telegraph.

Cllr Saqib Farooq of Peterborough First used his recent column (PT 29th August 2024) to remind his fellow councillors that the council’s duty of care ‘is what really matters.’

I don’t think anyone would argue that, so how does the council justify the very aggressive cuts it intends to make to Peterborough’s dementia services?

Opnion: Our duty of care is what really matters

placeholder image — Louise (right) and her mother Marion.

A duty of care is widely thought to mean a moral or legal obligation to ensure the safety or wellbeing of others. How does the council’s decision to cut funding to Peterborough Dementia Resource Centre (DRC) fit with this definition? And what of the decision to sell the building that is home to the centre and move the service to the other side of the city without any consultation with people with dementia and their families?

These decisions, that have been made with virtually no consultation, have shown people living with dementia no dignity or respect. If feels like the council has abandoned people living with dementia in favour of other groups of people in need without pausing to assess the impact of the loss of service on those who rely on it or of the long-term impact on the wellbeing of families in our growing, aging city.

My mum has Lewy-Body dementia. She and I rely on the Dementia Resource Centre as do very many families in our situation. It is currently open five days a week and is a place we can turn to for information, advice, support, companionship and respite (many of us care for a family member 24/7, which is incredibly isolating).

Our beloved centre keeps people out of hospital for longer, keeps them out of nursing homes for longer and is of huge benefit to families and the city as a whole.

Since the council’s decision to move the centre, cut the opening hours from five days a week to just three and cut the funding of services by over 50%, people who use the centre have descended into panic.

I have witnessed tears, aggression, despair, confusion and fear among people who deserve to be looked after with dignity during their later years, not made to feel that society can’t afford them and shoved to one side.

To make matters worse, the council didn’t let the DRC know until July, leaving the Alzheimer’s Society (which runs the service) and people living with dementia and their families very little time or opportunity to object. And try as we might, it has been very difficult to get a clear understanding from the council as to why the DRC is being targeted and who is responsible for the decisions.

On the one hand, councillors have rushed to express their sadness about it, but none seem to be doing anything to change the decision. Even our request to petition the council was rejected, with the council telling us it was too late, the decision is already made and cannot be referred anywhere for reconsideration.

How are we to fight for the best interests of people living with dementia when we cannot get straight answers or accurate, consistent information from the council?

It is now urgent and imperative that the council meets with the Alzheimer’s Society and representatives of users of the service to clarify what is happening and when and what input people with dementia and their families can have.

We fear we are being used as a political football and that no one is listening to us.

Surely, we are the ones who understand better than anyone what people living with dementia need in terms of services and location.

Please, Peterborough City Council, start listening to us before it is too late to do anything to save the service upon which so many people living with dementia desperately rely.