Unions respond to council day care closure plan

Care chiefs are launching formal consultations on introducing a new system which involves giving older people 'personal budgets' which they can spend on getting out of the house and taking part in social activities of their choice.

The plan involves closing the seven traditional day centres, where clients are taken by minibus to spend time with people of their own age, have lunch and take part in group activities.

Yesterday Allan Douglas, chairman of the Northumberland branch of Unite, said: "As trade unions we will negotiate in good faith with the county council through the proper channels, but we are insisting we will not accept any compulsory redundancies.

"They are doing this under the banner of supporting people and giving them extra choice, but in our view this is the exact opposite of supporting people, because it is taking away choice.

"It involves closing down these day centres and leaving it up to the elderly users to buy in services they want to use. We are totally opposed to these closures and regard them as a retrograde step in care of the elderly. We will support any organisation which tries to get this decision changed."

The council says the move is in response to 'declining popularity' of its traditional day care centres, and a national policy of encouraging self-directed support and personal budgets for older people. It plans to keep open two specialist day care centres for elderly people with dementia, in Bedlington and Blyth.

Last night a county council spokesman said: "Under the proposals there are 51 members of staff involved at the seven centres. We are not expecting any compulsory redundancies because quite a few staff have said they are interested in voluntary redundancy, and there are other vacancies and opportunities available."

Yesterday retired nurse Muriel Douglas of Bedlington, who worked in geriatric care during her 40 years in the health service, said she knew of two sole carers of elderly parents who rely on the respite provided by weekly visits to the town's Foundry House day care centre.

She added: "I am appalled by these proposals and I will be there with my placard when the public meeting is held here. Elderly people need to socialise at centres like these or they might lose the will to live."

Meanwhile, carers were last night promised their lives would be made easier by a website that costs £2.8m a year to run.

The Carers Direct hotline is intended to reduce the time and stress involved in searching out essential advice. It is said to contain details of support available.

Carers Direct comprises a website http://www.nhs.uk/carersdirect and a helpline freephone 0808 802 0202, as well as email and post.

CONSULTATION EXERCISE

A consultation exercise on the proposed changes runs until August 20 and includes meetings with elderly service users in the centres, and a series of public meetings.

A decision on the future of council-run day care centres is expected to be taken by the unitary authority in September.

The policy of self-directed support for older people is set out in the Government's Putting People First document, which was published at the end of 2007.

The public meetings will be held on:

Wednesday, June 17 at Prudhoe Community High School
Thursday, June 18 at Ponteland Community High School
Friday, June 19 at Trinity Methodist Church, Beaumont Street, Hexham
Tuesday, June 23 at Haltwhistle Methodist Church
Wednesday, June 24 at Amble Social Club, Bede Street
Thursday, June 25 at The Salvation Army, Hartford Road West, Bedlington
Friday 26 at the Isabella Centre, Ogle Drive, Blyth.

All the meetings start at 6pm.

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