York family fight for home for Jamie who has autism and OCD

Sue and Neil Rennison say their 28-year-old son, Jamie, is currently in a residential placement in Barnsley and has been offered a new home in Catterick.

But the couple, who live in Fulford, say that  being more than an hours drive away makes family access very difficult, especially in times of crisis when they can be needed to calm Jamie down.

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Sue said: "Jamie has recently had a number of crises and all professionals involved - including those at his present placement, agree that the current environment is not right for him and therefore the NHS Integrated Care Board (ICB), who fully fund his placement, are now looking to move him.

"The ICB are currently championing a placement which - whilst still one hour from York - is in their funding area and ticks that box for them, but it makes life harder for Jamie and his family. 

"All the professionals who work with Jamie agree that it would be in his best interest to be able to move closer to his home.

"This is particularly important as the high turnover of staff in all areas of Healthcare mean that he does not receive the continuity that is critical for a person with autism."

Jamie Rennison (Image: UGC)

The family say that ever since Jamie left school at 18 finding him the right sort of care has been a constant battle with organisations where personnel are constantly changing.

Sue says of Jamie's adult life - an entire decade - has been a constant fight for the right kind of care. 

The family has turned to York Central MP, Rachael Maskell for help with there case and Rachael says she's determined to help if she can.

Rachael Maskell is helping the family

"I have been working alongside Sue and the wider family to try to help Jamie get the placement closer to his family. Jamie's very complex issues and need for constant care is being funded by health and is very costly, but absolutely essential," said Rachael.

"The placement in Barnsley has been acknowledged as not in Jamie's best interests, and the Catterick alternative, which is almost as far away from the family, cannot be a long term alternative.

"Jamie needs to be near his family, the professionals working with him accept that, yet there is little to no provision in the city for complex cases in York which leads to a reliance on incredibly expensive out of town placements.

"The council and Health need to work closely together to supply the accommodation and staff to meet the needs of York people in their home city. This is better for patients, better for their families and crucially less expensive to the public purse than out of town placements. This is the joined up thinking that Government have been talking about for so long but are singly failing to deliver."

A spokesman for the ICB said: "It would not be appropriate for the ICB to comment on individual patient circumstances."