Liverpool City Council is set to approve plans which will see most of its day centres remain open, following a major review and consultation.
The aim is to ensure the city council can continue to support the most vulnerable in the face of £156 million of Central Government funding cuts over the next three years, while at the same time delivering £3 million of savings for in house services per year.
The plans were developed following informal consultation with service users, staff and carers since March and are designed to preserve the council’s skills and expertise in looking after some of the most vulnerable clients, and make better use of some of the council’s buildings.
In mental health, the city will continue to have two ‘hubs’, with more of an emphasis placed on recovery and reablement as well as offering longer term support.
The council will continue to run the following centres, which provide specialist services for the most vulnerable:
• The Lime (physical and learning disability and sensory impairment)
• Middleton (older people/day services)
• Crown Street and Parthenon (mental health)
• Amethyst House (mental health crisis support)
• Aigburth (alcohol service for homeless people)
The council will also run the following centres, which mainly deal with older people, offering 24 hour reablement care as well as some day services:
• Sedgemoor (dementia and day care)
• Granby (reablement only)
• Venmore (stroke and day care)
The following centres will remain open but are transferred to external organisations:
• Lancaster (learning disabilities)
• Alderwood (learning disabilities)
• Geneva Road (homeless)
• Supported accommodation (learning disability and mental health)
Norris Green Older Persons day service will be relocated to Venmore and Speke Day Centre will close, with service users offered care support at another centre.
In addition, the council is looking to develop better quality accommodation to replace Besford House in Belle Vale, which is used for respite and long term care for people with learning disabilities. Service users and carers would be involved in designing the new facility. It is being proposed that Besford House would then become a specialist residential service for those with complex needs such as autism or acquired brain injuries, to reduce the need to send people out of the city for care.
One change that has been made following consultation is that Geneva Road homelessness hostel will continue as a women only building, and not be open to men as originally proposed. It follows concerns that women fleeing domestic violence would be put off living at the hostel.
Deputy Mayor and Cabinet member for adult social care, Councillor Roz Gladden, said: “The consultation has found that our proposals are broadly in line with the expectations that service users, families and carers have for our services.
“In an ideal world, we would love to continue running all of our centres, but the huge cuts we have imposed on us by the Government mean that we have to find new ways of continuing to support people who receive care.
“We absolutely understand that any proposed change is always difficult, and we will work with those affected to make sure that they are fully supported through any transition to new organisations.
“We are committed to assessing everybody’s individual circumstances and providing services that meet their needs.”
The report will be considered by the Cabinet on Friday 7 November.