Glasgow woman fights to save vulnerable mum's day care centre
A woman in Glasgow says she's desperate to save her mother's elderly day care centre from being closed down.
It's as health and social care chiefs in Glasgow say they're aiming to save £20 million by April 2027 due to “increasingly challenging” funding pressures.
The proposed cuts include slashing the number of day care centres from ten to four and removing around 24 posts in a welfare rights service.
Jamie-Lee McCreadie's mother, Ann Jeffrey, was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia in 2024. After almost a year of searching, Jamie-Lee and her siblings were finally able to find a place for their mother to go two days a week, where she could be looked after, take part in activities, and enjoy her independence.
"It's been a respite," Jamie-Lee told Clyde 1, talking about the Focal Point centre in Drumchapel. "And we need the respite. We're at breaking point. I still have my own responsibilities, I still need to deal with that. I deal with a lot. My mum waited a year and I'm trying to keep her at home as long as possible, but it's just getting harder, and it'll become worse if they close these centres. We rely on it so heavily. For those 12 hours a week, we know our mum is safe."
"For those 12 hours a week, we know our mum is safe"
With six day care centres at risk of closure across Glasgow, but uncertainty around exactly which centres these are, Jamie-Lee says the lack of communication from the local authority is causing her family a lot of stress and frustration.
"It's just radio silence, and I can't stand back," Jamie-Lee said. "I'm not just my mum's voice, I want to be the voice for other people who are suffering as well."
Jamie-Lee shared that shared that her mother used to be a carer with Glasgow City Council, and spent years looking after others, just as others now look after her.
"She had dementia patients, and now this is how she's getting treated. I'm disgusted. All these years she worked, and this is how she's getting treated."
A number of services including the Older People Day Care Services are being reviewed as part of a three-year STEP Forward programme.
Councillor Paul Carey BEM has said: “A day centre can be the difference between someone spending the day alone in their house and spending it surrounded by friends, having a cup of tea, sharing a laugh, taking part in an activity and simply having a good old-fashioned blether.
“Glasgow’s own Health and Social Care Partnership recognises this. Its review states that day services are there to promote social stimulation, prevent isolation and maintain social inclusion.
“That tells us something very important: socialisation is not an optional extra. It is part of what the service is there to provide."
Concerns have also been raised around how welfare staff will be affected if the cuts go ahead.
Trade union Unison has warned of the impact on the “lives of ordinary working-class Glaswegians” – and a consultative ballot of its members found they would be willing to take industrial action.
A spokeswoman for the Glasgow health and Social Care Partnership said: “Unfortunately we cannot ignore the financial situation - doing nothing is not an option. Every service we provide will be subject to review as part of the STEP Forward programme.
“The Older People Day Care Service had an approximate 50% capacity rate in 2020 which has broadly remained unchanged. Following our review service user numbers remain lower than our available capacity, with 661 currently attending per month (as at May 2026), against a total capacity of 1500 places.
“Now the proposals have been approved by the Integrated Joint Board, we will engage with service users - and their carers – to ensure their needs inform the final shape of the revised service.”
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