Fraserburgh amputee: 'Closing Can-Do centre robs me of reason to get up in the morning'

Press and Journal

22-05-2025

Gordon Thomson started helping out at the Can-Do recycling project in Fraserburgh nearly 20 years ago.
Volunteering there has been a big part of his life, keeping himself busy by spending three days a week sorting out the metal into different piles.
When he heard it was closing down, he 'couldn't even move' and remained in bed for the whole day contemplating a future without it.
Gordon is just one of several disabled north-east residents and their families battling plans to axe eight disability daycare projects across Aberdeenshire.
And this week, they turned out in force at the Broch's Robertson Road centre to make their feelings known.
Gordon was just one of the crestfallen protestors we spoke to…
The Aberdeenshire Health and Social Care Partnership (AHSCP) is ploughing ahead with major changes in a bid to save £17 million.
And the axe could fall on these beloved services within days, with a crunch meeting next Wednesday.
Under the new plans, the Robertson Road Centre in Fraserburgh would be retained as the 'main hub' in the north of the county.
Banff Day Services and Buchan Day Opportunities would be kept alongside this.
However the Can-Do Recycling base and shop in Fraserburgh and Connecting the Broch could be scrapped, among others in the region.
I meet Gordon as he brandishes a placard outside the Westshore Industrial Estate building.
He has been attending Can-Do in Fraserburgh for around 17 years.
The announcement that Can-Do was at threat of being axed filled him with dread.
He explained: 'These two lassies came in and told me, they said 'sorry to tell you but we've got to stop'.
'I'm still there yet, but I haven't got a clue what is happening there and I don't know when it will end.'
Gordon said the revelation made him feel 'very, very sad'.
He added: 'It really hurt me… It will be a big miss to me whenever it happens.'
Gordon revealed the news of his beloved project being at risk of closing came as a big shock, so much so that he didn't leave his bed the next day.
'I couldn't even move, my carer wondered what was happening because she was phoning me up,' he told me.
'When she came in, I eventually told her and it just started me up again…'
Gordon admits he finds working with the shop side of it 'boring', but he loves organising the recycling into their designated buckets – and all of the separation is done by hand.
The site also deals with large oil cans collected from restaurants.
Once everything is in the right place, it is bailed up and taken away. Users and volunteers then clean the buckets ready for the next day.
'The best thing is when it comes to half past two and you go, 'Yee-ha!' because it's time to go,' Gordon says with a chuckle.
Mindful of the site he has come to love, he can't help wonder what will become of it.
'I'd like to know what is going to happen with the shop and what they are going to do with all the stuff that's inside it – it's a busy place.'
Julie Buchan volunteers at Can-Do and works alongside 'hard worker' Gordon. It's clear the two have struck up a close bond.
'Gordon is just the bones of the place,' she tells me with admiration.
'He knows all of the work and helps others – he helped me as a volunteer.'
Gordon instantly fires back: 'I keep her right. We are the A-Team because we don't muck about, we just get going.'
Julie started volunteering at Can-Do a couple of years ago and admits she didn't realise how much work went on there.
'They provide donated affordable furniture, household items, bikes and beds for people that need it,' she adds.
'The recycling element of it is widespread because the collection trucks go out to Banff, Macduff, Mintlaw, right round to Fyvie.
'If Can-Do is not collecting all of the recycling, where is all of that stuff going to go?'
Plans have been made for Gordon to attend the Men's Shed instead, however a recent visit left him feeling disappointed as he struggled to access the site with his wheelchair.
Anne-Marie Lawrence is among the crowd too.
Her 19-year-old son Dylan has been attending Robertson Road for just over a year but he also visits the recycling project two days a week.
The proud mum said: 'He loves Can-Do, he likes getting out in the truck.'
Julie attests to this, chipping in: 'He gets stuck right in and shovels the tins away.'
However, Anne-Marie tells me Dylan's future care arrangements still hang in the balance.
'I've not had confirmation in writing but I got a text message to say not to worry about Dylan, he would still meet the criteria,' she tells me.
'When I had my meeting for my son, they asked how I would feel about travelling to Inverurie.
'I told them I didn't have time to travel across the north-east, I've got my own job to go to – they just don't think.'
As well as services like Can-Do closing, tighter rules on who is eligible for care are being rolled out. It could mean certain people are entitled to less than they have become used to.
And another mum eager to share her story is Alison Duthie.
Her 19-year-old son Christopher, who takes seizures, has epilepsy and severe learning disabilities, has been attending the Robertson Road centre for almost a year.
Christopher visits the centre four days per week, but this could be cut down to just three.
'We get 22 hours just now,' Alison said.
'If we don't get that and there's nothing to entertain Christopher in the Broch, it would affect his mental health and mine as well.
'You fight tooth and nail for your bairns, and because they are disabled they've got a raw deal – it's heartbreaking.'
I then meet Denise Macdonald and her sister-in-law Ellie Fairclough.
Denise took on the role of being Ellie's personal assistant but sees Ellie as a daughter.
The 28-year-old has Down's syndrome and a weak heart, and is monitored regularly because of this.
Ellie attends Robertson Road five days a week and loves going there to hang out with her friends.
The family have been told that going forward, Ellie will qualify for two or three days maximum – and this is causing concern.
'What's going to happen to Ellie for the two or three days she's not at the centre? My partner works full-time so who is going to watch Ellie?
'Ellie can't go on the bus, she has no concept of what money is and she wouldn't know when to get off… She needs to be with an adult 24/7.
Denise explains that Ellie doesn't understand what is going on at the moment and won't take the reduction in days well as she hates change.
'She might think she did something wrong,' Denise worries.
Aberdeenshire health chiefs carried out studies on each of the services at risk, determining how adversely their closure could affect vulnerable people.
They say the 'majority' of people who attend Can-Do are 'not eligible' for in-house daycare services and will 'be offered an alternative' within the community.
The report states: 'Learning disability teams are skilled in supporting transitions with service users/families /carers and will work with them to support people into new or alternative services.
'Traditionally services like Fraserburgh Can-Do Recycling and Shop were supporting less complex people with learning disabilities.'