To ask the Minister of Health whether any assessment has been made of the availability of respite care in the summer for families with children with complex needs.

Belfast HSC Trust (BHSCT):

During the summer months, Belfast Health and Social Care Trust (BHSCT) provides a variety of programmes, including initiatives offered by Solas, Kids Together, the Education Authority and Mencap.

Additionally, numerous families seek re-assessment to secure extra direct payment hours, which can be used with community and voluntary agencies or to employ personal assistants.

These measures help to ensure families receive enhanced support throughout the summer holidays.

Northern HSC Trust (NHSCT):

The Northern Trust can advise that the respite needs of all children with complex needs are routinely assessed by their allocated Social Worker. These assessments are reviewed through formal Family Support Reviews, chaired by a Senior Social Worker, to ensure appropriate oversight, planning, and support for families.

Where families request an increase in respite provision, these cases are presented to the Children with Disability Resource Panel, chaired by the Head of Service, for consideration and decision making. The service is therefore aware of all identified need for respite services.

The Trust provides two children’s residential respite facilities: Whitehaven in Whitehead and Eden View in Ballymena. Currently, Whitehaven is operating at partial capacity due to children residing there for part of the week following a breakdown in their home circumstances. The Trust is progressing plans to have Whitehaven fully operational by the end of June, in advance of the summer holiday period.

Eden View is not currently open for short break respite, due to ongoing challenges in recruiting sufficient staff to operate the facility safely. A further recruitment campaign is scheduled to commence. At this time, the Trust is unable to confirm whether Eden View will be operational at the beginning of the summer (there are 12 children on their waiting list).

In addition to residential respite, the Trust’s Share the Care Scheme provides short breaks through Trust approved carers and is a highly used resource. Last year, the Share the Care Teams operated 10 summer schemes, each lasting between one and two weeks. A total of 89 children were offered a place on these schemes, providing families with much needed respite during the summer period. These are currently being organised for this year again.

South Eastern HSC Trust (SEHSCT):

The South Eastern Trust have been carrying out an assessment of those young people who require Short Breaks in its variety of forms as detailed below as well as identifying the cohort of young people who require additional support over the Summer, and finally those young people who only require support in the summer months. At any one time there are approximately 154 children within the Trust who receive one or more types of Short Break provisions throughout the year. The Trust has an Early Intervention Service which is currently accepting referrals for children who will require additional Short Breaks over the Summer. To date the service has received an additional 20 referrals, but anticipates that this will rise to 30 plus additional children. During early June the Summer supports Panel will convene to prioritise and allocate those services to those children with complex needs. There will be a comprehensive summer supports programme drawn up and shared with the families. Additional staff within the Community Social Work team are also deployed to the summer scheme programme. Therefore, Social work assistants, Senior Social Care Support workers and Early intervention workers will also play a part in delivering activities and Short Breaks during the summer.

The South Eastern Trust’s Children’s Learning Disability Service delivers a continuum of Short breaks from community based Short Breaks delivered by the contracted voluntary and community sector, as well as core service staff, through to overnight Residential or Fostering Short breaks. In relation to the Community and Voluntary Sector the Trust contracts with Positive Futures, Cedar foundation and the YMCA who deliver community based Short Breaks on a weekly Basis for a 3-hourly session for 90 young people. The Children’s Disability Outreach Service provides in reach and outreach day short breaks to children within the service, this has been a very effective and valued provision for our families since its inception in January 2021. Recruitment is almost complete for an additional 6 new staff which will treble the service provision, allowing for additional, much needed support to children and families. This has taken time to achieve, in terms of the recruitment, induction and training of the staff and setting up the systems and processes to facilitate the expansion. Currently the Service supports 19 children have been receiving 2:1 outreach support either weekly or fortnightly. The team have also provided occasional and holiday supports to an additional 32 young people across the service. With the full staff team soon to be in place, the plan for 2026 is to achieve the agreed target of 60 young people per year in receipt of this support. In addition, The Trust supports 16 children through the provision of morning and after schools’ provision by contracting with the Day care provider Cool Kids, based in Newtownards. This support is delivered on a daily and weekly basis with a number of young people also availing of this service during weekends.

The delivery of overnight Residential Short Breaks to families has been reduced as a consequence of the number of children requiring long-term care, however the expansion of Greenhill has been positive. The facility has expanded to open 6 nights per week and 21 children are receiving overnight support over a monthly period.

Finally, The South Eastern Trust has a Fostering Short Breaks team which provides overnight short breaks to children with disabilities known to the Children’s Disability Community Teams. There are 5 approved foster carers who provide a very welcome monthly 2-night short break to 6 children and young people and their families who are very positive about the service. The aim is to expand the provision with the addition of another Social Worker, which is in the recruitment process.

Southern HSC Trust (SHSCT):

The Southern Trust Children with Disabilities service continually scope what short breaks will be required for families and children with complex needs over all holiday periods including summer months. The CWD service management team meet on a monthly basis to discuss and plan through thematic analysis of current and future needs emerging within the cohort of young people who require additional support.

The Trust provides overnight (away from the home) short breaks to CWD and their families via either Residential based short breaks or via Trust approved foster carers.

Furthermore, short breaks day opportunities continue to be provided to children and families in a range of ways including Self-directed support packages, Summer Schemes, Day Clubs, voluntary sector individual development schemes, Children’s Hospice, After-school provision, Supported Playgroup Scheme, Specialist Childminding Scheme, Council/Southern Trust development schemes, Domiciliary Care and Youth Clubs.

Additionally, The Southern Trust Community Children’s Nursing (CCN) Team provide respite to children with complex needs and delegated healthcare interventions. This is provided within the child’s home and is based on individual assessed need and is reviewed yearly or sooner if required.

The CCN management team meet monthly to discuss, agree and plan respite provision. The CCN management team also liaise closely and meet monthly with the NI Children’s Hospice at Home service who also contribute into the provision of respite support.

Western HSC Trust (WHSCT):

The Western Trust does not assess for summer short breaks in isolation, but rather as part of the overall assessment of need completed on an annual basis in respect of each individual family.