Only respite holiday provider in UK to close amid social care crisis

Britain's only respite holiday provider for severely disabled people and their carers is to close because of financial difficulties, in what has been called a bellwether example of the UK's growing social care crisis.

- Patrick Butler

Revitalise, a charity that runs unique state-of-the-art respite stays that offer 24-hour care at two specially adapted hotels, said local authority cuts, increasing running costs and a fall in donations meant it was no longer viable.

The 60-year-old charity, which has a number of high-profile supporters, including Samantha Cameron, Dame Esther Rantzen, and Dame Judi Dench, said the financial challenges it faced were “insurmountable”.

In a message to guests and donors, seen by the Guardian, the charity said it hoped its closure would highlight the “critical state of affairs” in social care and the diminishing availability of funding for respite care.

Revitalise's respite services were prized by guests and carers who could not take holidays in conventional hotels because of the absence of specialist support and adaptations for people with complex disabilities.