A RESPITE centre providing vital care for vulnerable adults including the elderly and those with learning disabilities is set to be shut down permanently.

Health and social care bosses are recommending that the Inverclyde Integrated Joint board mothball the Hillend Centre, which has remained closed since the start of the Covid pandemic.

Three years on, officials say that there is no longer a significant demand for the centre, which would cost £329,000 to reopen.

It is proposed that alternatives be found for people who used the centre regularly.

But the Telegraph reported in January 2020 - two months before lockdown - that the unit was already under threat of closure and was on a budget cuts hitlist.

At the time Unison warned of the impact this would have on families and were concerned that Inverclyde Council would instead be funding private care home places.

In a report to go before the IJB, chief officer Kate Rocks states: "There is sufficient capacity in the care home system to cover residential respite for all older people who require this, including those who previously accessed Hillend."

Hillend mostly provided care for elderly people, as well as a large intake of adults with learning disabilities, and some with mental health illness.

Ms Rocks admits in her report that there may be a potential gap for people under 65 as care home provision is mainly for over 65s.

But officials claim that some younger people are very comfortable using a care home.

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Ms Rocks states: "Further investigation is required for people who have a learning disability, which is currently being undertaken."

It is also stated that of the 75 service users who took up the places at Hillend there are 39 still registered.

The members of staff who worked in Hillend have been deployed elsewhere in the service.

Back in January 2020, local Unison officials stepped in to warn they would fight any plans to close Hillend.

They argued that it was a lifeline service which families relied on with 16 members of staff.

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They were concerned that the council would be using private care home places instead.

The IJB board will be asked today to agree to the proposal that Hillend respite unit remains closed, as the impact has been minimised over the last three years for both service users and employees.

Members are also being asked to agree to further consultation on the potential decommissioning of Hillend, and to a review of alternative respite options.