Breaks depend on extent of disability

The more disabled a child is the less likely they are to receive
short-break care, according to a report published this week to mark
Share the Care Week.

The report from the Shared Care Network, a charity promoting
family-based short breaks, finds that more than 40 per cent of
short-break schemes are aware of children with complex health care
needs not being referred to them by social workers as there is so
little likelihood of them receiving a service.

It states that schemes struggle to place children from this group
due to a shortage of short-break carers, a lack of funding to adapt
properties or pay for equipment and training, as well as issues
concerning manual handling.

The survey of 66 short-break schemes coincides with the launch of a
national recruitment campaign to encourage people to become
short-break carers.

A second survey to mark the week, carried out by learning
difficulties charity Mencap, finds that, despite 99 per cent of the
public believing carers of people with severe or profound learning
difficulties deserve a break, many families receive inadequate
support from local authorities.

– Too Disabled for Care? from www.sharedcarenetwork.org.uk