DUNMUIR PARK NEW ‘FIASCO’

Posted: June 15th, 2006 | Author: DGPPG | Filed under: Press Clippings

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Thursday, June 15, 2006 - Galloway News (Visit Web Site)

FAMILIES and friends of Dunmuir Park residents have branded a council consultation exercise a ‘fiasco’ after officials failed to invite them.

They knew nothing about the meeting being staged in Castle Douglas Community Centre on Tuesday at 1pm, until they were alerted at short notice by the media.

Headed ‘Consultation on Learning Disability Service,’the meeting was aimed at users of the service, which includes Dunmiur Park residents.

It was proposed that there would be ‘drop-in’ sessions with Dunmuir Park manager Barry Needham and senior manager Philip McCann.

Some friends and relatives attended the meeting but many were unable to at short notice.

The council have apologised for failing to circulate the information, an apology that has been hard for the Dunmuir Park Protest Group (DPPG) to swallow.

A spokesperson from Dumfries and Galloway Council said: ‘Because this was a public meeting we relied on the press releases to publicise this but we apologise for not informing the families.’

It was admitted however that the statement was issued too late last Wednesday for publication in The Galloway News.

The spokesperson continued: ‘This is not a vital meeting.

‘There will be plenty more opportunities for consultation throughout the summer.’

Dunmuir Park Protest Group say that given the lack of reply to their emails and letters this meeting was indeed vital.

A spokesperson said: ‘This is not good enough.

‘This was a crucial meeting for us and, if it was not vital, why where there two managers there?

‘The trust that is left remains low or negative.’

He described Tuesday’s events as a ‘fiasco’ and a ‘farce.’

The group also say that they still have not been informed of future meetings which Dumfries and Galloway Council say will continue over the next few months.

This gaffe comes after a plea for the ‘mismanagement’ of the Dunmuir Park issue to be rectified.

DPPG issued an appeal to senior NHS and council managers asking for the saga to be effectively managed, saying: ‘The Dunmiur Park situation is spiralling out of control damaging all concerned.’

The protest group have also issued an appeal to Health Minster Andy Kerr asking him to act on the ‘maladministration and management failures’ of councillors and officers over the past few months.

Also under fire this week was Chair of the Adult Services Sub Committee, Councillor Jim Dempster for his portrayal of the hostel on a BBC Radio programme.

The DPPG have taken objection to comments they say he made in an interview aired by BBC Radio Scotland last Wednesday in which they claim he referred to the unit as an ‘institution’ where the residents were apparently ‘contained.’

In a letter to John Burns, chief executive of the NHS Dumfries and Galloway, and Phillip Jones, chief executive of Dumfries and Galloway Council, the DPPG refer to Mr Dempster’s comments as ‘a slur on the work of highly dedicated Dunmuir Park care staff by their employer’.

The statement continues: ‘On air Councillor Dempster admitted that he has not visited Dunmuir Park or discussed the service in person with any service users or residents.

‘Yet he is chair of the Adult Services Sub-Committee and responsible for the February 2 decision and for subsequently emphasising that the decision ‘must stand’.’

Councillor Jim Dempster told the ‘News’ yesterday that he had visited the hostel that morning and was impressed with the staff and service.

He said: ‘Dunmuir Park is a very nice establishment, the staff are very good and the service users clearly enjoy being there.’

He defended the word institution because the residents do not have individual tenancies saying it is not really their house.

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