Agenda item

This report sets out the outcome of a consultation on the future provision of    147 Nelson Road, Medway Council’s in-house Community Resource Centre for those who have social care needs because of their Mental Health.   

Discussion:

The Assistant Director Adult Social Care introduced this report which set out the outcome of a consultation on the future of provision at 147 Nelson Road, the Council’s in-house Community Resource Centre for those who have social care needs because of their mental health.

Three options had been consulted on:

·       Option 1 – do nothing

·       Option 2 – development of the services

·       Option 3 – closure of the centre.

The Assistant Director advised that option 2 was the preferred option, whereby the service would be amalgamated with the Community Support Outreach Team (CSOT).

There was general support for option 2 amongst Members but comments were made that more detail was needed when the paper was considered by Cabinet and that the consultation had ended before the pandemic had begun.

Concern was expressed by some Members about the anxiety and distress the consultation had caused amongst people who used the service. The point was also made that future consultations involving vulnerable groups should be caried out so as to minimise the anxiety it can cause. In response, the Director acknowledged the anxieties this could cause especially for people with mental health issues. Option 2 would be a better model of social care and allow access to the same range of support available to others in the community.

It was considered that service users would probably welcome the broadening of the service.

A view was expressed that 147 Nelson Road had not been a failing service but rather had been run down and vacancies not filled. The staff who worked there had always been willing to provide additional services. As disposing the site would not have realised a high capital receipt then it was more financially prudent to pursue option 2.

It was suggested that it would be better to carry out a skills audit of staff and an appraisal of training needs in the light of proposed future of the service before pursuing the forecasted redundancy, particularly given the difficulties in recruiting to mental health posts. The Assistant Director advised that the existing skills of the workforce would be looked at before any redundancies were considered and service users would be involved in the development of the service. The Director added that he understood the concerns about what were fairly modest savings and he would look at how best to respond to this challenge when the matter was considered by Cabinet. The key was to maintain a level of investment while recognising there were alternative ways to deliver the service and support needed.

In response to a request that the Council’s website provide more and cleared information about the Centre, the Assistant Director commented she had already started to look at this.

Decision:

The Committee agreed to recommend Option 2 to Cabinet and also that more detail be provided to Cabinet to reflect the fact that the consultation had ended before the pandemic had begun.

(In accordance with Council Rule 12.6, Councillors Murray and Price asked that their votes in favour be recorded.)