Day centre which was closed 'unlawfully' reopens

A day centre in Hawick which was ruled to have been closed "unlawfully" has reopened after more than four years.

Angry families raised a petition and took their fight to the courts after Scottish Borders Council (SBC) pulled the plug on the service in 2020.

Lucy O'Leary, who chairs the region's health and social care partnership, offered an apology to service users and their families during the official opening.

She said: "We got it wrong and we're sorry for that."

Day centres for the elderly in Eyemouth, Kelso, Jedburgh, Galashiels and Peebles were all closed during 2019 by the local authority.

Social work bosses stated that providing services within community settings was their strategy and there was decreasing demand for the centres.

But the closure of the Hawick facility at the start of 2020 was met with a backlash, with campaigners raising a 3,000-signature petition calling for a rethink.

The Teviot Day Service Support Group argued that full-time carers of their loved ones with complex needs such as dementia deserved respite.

In 2022, Lady Carmichael ruled in the Court of Session that the withdrawal of Teviot Day Service was "unlawful".

She believed that the closure of the centre was flawed and unlawful as the consultation process did not meet the requirements of the Equality Act 2010.

Over the past two years, the campaign group has worked with SBC and the region's health and social care partnership to reopen the service.

Ms O'Leary said they were grateful for the group in getting the service re-opened.

"We know we got it wrong, but the work that has been done since then is making sure we get things right for the future," she said.

"The feedback we've received from service users, their families and from staff is that this new centre was worth fighting for."

Madge Elliot MBE, whose son Sean was part of the campaign group, cut the tape to open the centre.

The 95-year-old, who has Alzheimer's, had used the original day centre three times a week.

Sean said: "Carers need respite, and since the closure of the centre there hasn't been anything.

"I was at the dementia café yesterday with mum and there was a chap who came up and told me his wife has dementia and he's her primary carer, 24-7.

"He described his wife as an 'escape artist', so you can imagine the constant stress he's under.

"He said that all he was looking for was a half-day or a day-a-week when he knew his wife would be looked after and he could get on with the other things he has to do."

As well as the new centre, which is in the grounds of Hawick Community Hospital, a separate service is being set up in the rural village of Newcastleton.

The health and social care partnership is looking at relaunching a day service for the elderly in the Galashiels area ahead of turning its attentions to other parts of the Borders.

Chris Myers, chief officer, said: "It's been a long journey to get to where we are today.

"We have looked across the whole of the Teviotdale area and now have new services in Hawick and Newcastleton.

"There's been a lot of learning along the way and we'll now take that into other parts of the Borders."