To ask the Minister of Health to detail any plans to increase respite services in East Londonderry for parents of children with additional needs.

The Western Health and Social Care Trust have one facility in Londonderry that offers respite services to parents of children with disabilities. The Western Trust has informed my Department that Rosebud Short Break Unit has limited short breaks being provided, due to 2 children requiring full time care placements within the unit.

The Western Health and Social Care Trust has informed my department that they are aware of the stresses and anxieties for families that the limited short break provision will be creating.

My Departmental officials continue to engage with the Western Health and Social Care Trust around the issue of Short breaks provision to restore the facility to its previous offer of respite care.

The Children With Disability Framework is also currently being finalised by my Department in response to increasing challenges faced by families of Children With Disability and the corresponding difficulties experienced by Trusts in meeting rising demands and increased complexity of need. It is recognised that a review and reform of how services are structured, delivered and resourced, both from a regional perspective and locally in each of the Trusts is required. This includes the provision of Short Break.

The full implementation of the Children With Disability Framework will better enable Trusts and independent sector providers to respond to the pressures across Health and Social Care, specifically: (i) increasing demand for early and community-based support; (ii) increasing demand for respite care/short breaks; (iii) increasing demand for more bespoke residential placements; and (iv) better planning and management of complex transitions from children to adult services.

A Children With Disability Workstream has also been established as part of the Children’s Social Care Services Strategic Reform Board. This workstream will be looking specifically at the regional position in respect of Children With Disability, and will include a focus on short breaks / respite. The Children With Disability Workstream will seek to deliver reform within Children’s Social Care services to address a range of known service challenges, particularly in relation to an ever-increasing volume and complexity of case work. The outcomes of this work will inform future commissioning.