Mother raises concerns about care charity in Portsmouth

Sarah Byrne has criticised Community Integrated Care (CIC), claiming the firm does not have enough staff to care for her son, Haydn Trotman, who suffers from crippling anxiety and has severe learning difficulties.

She claimed since CIC took over the running of the home, in Hulbert Road, in December, her son’s emotional well-being had declined significantly.

Sarah said: ‘I feel they have let my son down 2,000 per cent.

‘They have let him down from a massive height.’

Haydn suffers from Fragile X syndrome, a genetic condition which causes a range of developmental issues including learning disabilities and cognitive impairment.

She said a high turnover of agency staff had left her son feeling more distressed than ever and is now calling for CIC to take immediate action.

‘We’re reliving what he went though when he first had a nervous breakdown in 2007 and was sectioned,’ said the 49-year-old of Court Lane, Drayton.

‘It’s like a bad dream that keeps coming back.

‘He is starting to do things we thought he had got over – he is stripping because he is stressed, lasing out at people. It’s just not like him at all.’

Sarah’s sister, Dawn is also worried, and added: ‘They (CIC) have taken away any progress he’s made over the past three or four years.’

Responding to the claims, Sam Leath, regional director for CIC in southern England said the firm was ‘committed’ to resolving any concerns.

She said when the service was taken over, it did not transfer enough permanent staff to meet the assessed needs of the people it supports.

‘We took this matter seriously, taking immediate action to ensure that tenants were receiving the amount of support that they required by arranging additional shifts from agency carers,’ she said.

She added four recruitment drives had already taken place and that two full-time staff had since been employed, with offers made to a further three.

However, in spite of wanting to employ people as soon as possible, she explained the recruitment process and background checks can ‘take time’.