UPDATED: Cuts to adult mental health and day-care services approved

Controversial plans to close the North Devon Link centres at Barnstaple, Bideford and Ilfracombe have been agreed.

They help adults with mental health issues, but Devon County Council say they need to save money - and services will now evolve and be offered via the Devon Mental Health Partnership.

The service is funded by the council and managed by Devon Partnership NHS Trust and costs £485k per year to run - mostly staff costs . The council also owns the buildings, but it was the service and not the buildings which was subject to consultation.

The Link sites will now close in three months, with campaigners looking at whether they can bring legal action to save the sites - which they claim 'save lives'.

Campaigners say it's unclear exactly what the replacement service will look like - as they worry it's lessening what it is already on offer.

The report adds: "The Council and Devon Partnership Trust will assist those people to access alternative equivalent support and work with Devon Partnership NHS Trust and the Devon Mental Health Alliance to support all service users in their transition to alternative community support over a period of 3 months minimum."

A full statement can be found here

Learning disability day-care services are also being closed in Okehampton, Honiton and Kingsbridge.

The report adds: "The number of eligible people accessing the Councils in-house learning disability day services has reduced in the last eight years. From 116 in 2015, to 85 in 2020. Current attendance is now at twelve people, these twelve people are accessing four services (Abbey Rise, Nichols, Rosalind House, and Rushbrook), albeit the individual accessing Rosalind House is currently accessing another service. It may be thought that these services would gain users in the future if they were promoted. However, the research suggests this will not be the case because the numbers coming through are likely to remain at relatively consistent levels and people’s expectations of how outcomes can be met have changed."

Today plans to introduce on-street parking charges in eight towns across Devon were scrapped (see video above).

More than 5,000 people signed a petition against the changes in places like Sidmouth, Dartmouth and Crediton - more than half of those in Tavistock.

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