Ex-boss hits out at plan to close only MS respite home

A FORMER senior manager with the MS Society in Scotland yesterday hit out at the "indecent haste" surrounding controversial plans to close the country's only respite care centre for people suffering from multiple sclerosis.

Karen Howe, who was employed as the society's training co-ordinator in Scotland until she resigned in January last year, voiced her concern about the timetable for the closure of Leuchie House.

Meanwhile Denise Fagg, the former head of the society in Scotland who resigned in a row over management of the charity, yesterday joined the growing chorus of condemnation over the loss of the centre in North Berwick where 85 staff work.

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Leuchie House will close by the end of this year unless a new provider is found to run the service. But the three respite homes in England, earmarked for closure, will not shut until late next year.

Ms Howe said: "The closure of Leuchie House seems indecently hasty, given that there is lack of clarity over the alternatives available for those most severely affected by MS in Scotland.

"Why are three of the four homes not being closed until November next year while Leuchie House is being fast-tracked for closure?"

Ms Fagg quit her post as the chair of the MS Society Scotland after the charity's national board of trustees decided to suspend the powers of its Scottish council. Following her resignation, she made a formal complaint to Scotland's charity watchdog, the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator, claiming that MS Society Scotland has been unconstitutionally stripped of its powers by the UK parent body. The row also led to the departure of Harry Potter author JK Rowling as its principal patron.

Ms Fagg, who was awarded the MBE for her work in voluntary and carers' services, said: "The board abolished the council in Scotland in 2009 and this is their response to our future.

"Raising money in Scotland to avoid such closures is far more difficult than in the time of the council in Scotland, when it exercised more control over its own finances and fund raising.

"The loss of key members of the fundraising team is another factor in the sorry story of the takeover by the board in London and the loss of the Scottish Patron JK Rowling.

"This home has an outstanding record. It has given holidays, day care and palliative care to some of the most vulnerable people suffering from MS."

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A spokesman for the MS Society defended the closure timetable. He said: "Leuchie House is a listed building leased to the society, whereas we own the three care centres operating across England.

"This accounts for the difference in the proposed timescale for closures. Scotland has been fully involved in the review process from the beginning."

David McNiven, the charity's director for Scotland said: "The review has highlighted new opportunities for us to be more responsive to the needs of people with MS."

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