Agenda item

The Director for Care Services and Commissioning (Adult Social Care) submits a report providing an indicativetimetablefor theactionsneededto supportexistingservice users attending the Douglas Bader Day Centre to find alternative services before the Centre closes.  The Commission is recommended to note the report and comment as appropriate.

The Director for Care Services and Commissioning (Adult Social Care) submitted a report providing an indicativetimetablefor theactionsneededto supportexistingservice users attending the Douglas Bader Day Centre to find alternative services before the Centre closed.  The report also included a summary of the progress of individual service users moving to alternative provision.

The Director advised the Commission that:-

·           15 people remained using the centre, all of whom had received an assessment;

·           It was intended to close the centre on 22 August 2014.  Anyone not relocated to a different service by then would be moved to the Hastings Road centre;

·           Notice had been given to staff that their contracts would end on 4 September 2014;

·           Some staff had used “bump on” to find new jobs with the Council.  Under this provision, if a member of staff from any service area moved on within the Council, staff from the Douglas Bader centre who did not want to take redundancy could be offered the  post being vacated, subject to a formal recruitment and selection process;

·           No concerns had been received from any of the centre users about moving to the Hastings Road centre; and

·           Those relocated to Hastings Road would continue to receive support until they were in receipt of an alternative service.

Some concern was expressed that the centre would be closing before all of the users had been found alternative services, but it was noted that with staff leaving it would no longer be possible to operate the centre.  It was recognised that relocating users to Hastings Road was not an ideal solution, but the process of relocating users had taken longer than anticipated and users would remain together as a group at Hastings Road.

The Assistant Mayor (Adult Social Care) reiterated that it was unfortunate that some users had to move to Hastings Road, but the facilities there were much better there than at the Douglas Bader centre and users would not receive a lesser service.

The Commission welcomed the choice and control available through personal budgets, but questioned why the assessments had taken so long to complete.  In reply, the Director for Care Services and Commissioning (Adult Social Care) advised that the report had been prepared some time in advance of the meeting, so all of the 15 remaining users of the Douglas Bader centre had now received assessments.  Users who had already moved on were supported in their attendance at alternative day care services, or use of other community services. 

The Commission was reminded that some users of the Douglas Bader centre had been there for approximately 40 years and had quite complex needs and the Council had consistently stated that all users would be supported throughout the process of finding and using alternative services.  Contact had not been lost with any of the former users of the Douglas Bader centre.

RESOLVED:

That the Director for Care Services and Commissioning (Adult Social Care) be asked to submit a further report to the next meeting of the Commission updating Members on the actions taken to support service users attending the Douglas Bader Day Centre to find alternative services, this report to include feedback from those who had moved regarding how successful that move had been.