WEST WORCESTERSHIRE MP Dame Harriett Baldwin has urged councillors to show some urgency in arranging to meet with parents and carers who will be affected by the relocation of respite care provision.
Dame Harriett met with Councillor Sue Eacock, who is the Cabinet member responsible for adult social care provision and urged her to visit Osborne Court, see the accommodation and meet with parents and carers to discuss their concerns.
Osborne Court, in Malvern, and Churchview, in Bromsgrove, both offer specialist NHS nurse-led care for children and adults with complex needs and parents were told earlier in the year that both facilities could close in the summer.
Worcestershire NHS Health and Care Trust served notice on the county council in April 2025 as it could no longer subsidise care at Malvern and Bromsgrove and negotiations between the two parties seem to have been unsuccessful.
The provision in Malvern is expected to cease in June, but Dame Harriett met with the parents and carers of service users and in March she urged County Councillors Sue Eacock and Justin Bowen to meet with the parents as well to discuss plans for future provision.
The service at Malvern is nurse-led support and the Health and Care Trust has seen costs spiral in the last five years and it took the decision to request an improved deal with the county council, but talks broke down.
Dame Harriett said: “I met with the parents and carers of adults with complicated care needs in March and heard how vital the respite care service is and how valued the NHS support is for both users and carers.
“I felt it was important that the county councillors who are making the decision to change the provision also took the time to meet with the people most directly impacted by the decision and I have been told that a meeting could happen soon.
“This does not seem to show much urgency given the uncertainty for families and staff.
Mark Fitton, strategic director for adults and communities at Worcestershire County Council, said the situation has arisen due to Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust giving notice on its contract to provide adult replacement care.
Worcestershire County Council is developing its own in-house offer, and they anticipate the service will be in place by the summer of 2026.
A spokesperson for the council said: “After the Health and Care Trust gave notice in 2025 that the care provision would end, the County Council has continued to follow its plan to put a new service in place.
“We have been providing regular updates to families throughout this process, both directly through Frequently Asked Questions and through face‑to‑face meetings, which were held earlier this month.
“We will continue to liaise with families as plans move forward and will also be taking steps to gather feedback from service users before final decisions are made about the new service.”
