'Devastation' as holiday charity facing closure

A man who needs 24-hour care for his complex disability fears he has had his final trip away due to a holiday charity closing down.

On Monday, Revitalise, which runs holiday centres in Essex and Southport, said it was facing closure due to "insurmountable financial challenges".

David Bartle, 58, has used a powered wheelchair since 2011 after his spinal decompression surgery went wrong and has carers that visit his house four times a day.

After hearing the news, he said he was "shocked" and "howled down the phone" when he called his sister about it.

Mr Bartle, from Allestree, Derby, said his first holiday after his operation came with Revitalise in 2014.

On Mr Bartle's last trip to the charity's Jubilee Lodge site in Chigwell, Essex, they also went sightseeing in London.

"It gives me a break from normality, I just felt regenerated and it helps me to carry on," he said.

Mr Bartle's sister, Sue Orr, said the charity had been a "lifeline" for her brother.

"Until you've lived with somebody who is disabled, you can't understand what a difference it can make," she said.

"This is just a week away a year, but it gives him something to look forward to, even gives him something to live for.

"He used to go to rock concerts and he even went to Live Aid, he still has all the tickets.

"There's so many things he's not been able to do and this just gave him back a taste of his old life.

"When he heard the news he sobbed, he was devastated.

"I burst into tears after speaking to him because I know what this means to him. I don't know that he'll ever get another holiday in his lifetime."

In a statement, Revitalise said: "Despite every effort to ensure the charity's survival, the financial challenges we face have become insurmountable.

"We are deeply sorry that as the UK's last remaining provider of holidays with 24-hour care for people with complex disabilities, the breaks we provide will now be beyond reach for the majority of our guests.

"It remains our lasting hope that policy makers take heed of the critical state of affairs in the social care sector and ensure that respite is properly funded."

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