WEST WORCESTERSHIRE MP Dame Harriett Baldwin has urged the county councillors who have taken the decision to move respite care services away from the NHS owned Osborne Court, in Malvern, to visit the site and meet with parents.
Worcestershire County Council has decided to fund provision of respite care for adults with complex care needs at three different county council-owned locations in Malvern, Worcester and Bromsgrove.
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.
Dame Harriett said: “I was grateful to spend time with county councillors and an officer to discuss this issue, and I’ve urged them to put the needs of parents and vulnerable service users first.
“There seems to have been a breakdown in the relationship between the council and the Trust at a time of leadership changes in both organisations, and as a result there has been a lack of clear communication with the people who will be most affected by this change.
“I am glad that the county council is now communicating better with the users but we agreed that there is more to be done.”
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.
Mr Fitton added: “This important service is therefore continuing, and there is no reduction in current funding.
“Our offer will have options in Malvern, Worcester and Bromsgrove and will be designed to meet the needs of adults who have an assessed need for replacement care within Worcestershire. We are currently working with the Trust to ensure that the service transitions smoothly.”
