Adult Care Day Services Review 2020 - Carers

Overview

Introduction

What are Day Care Services?

• Day care services are different activities for adults with learning disabilities who need support during the day

Why are we reviewing these services?

• During the Covid-19 outbreak many day services were force to close
• People are now beginning to return to these services BUT due to social distancing they are unable to open with full numbers
• There are also growing financial pressures that are beginning to restrict the levels of support for some service users with lower level needs
• We have to be pragmatic and creative about how we respond – the building based offer must be prioritised for those people with the more complex needs and profound and multiple learning disabilities
• We need to develop more alternatives for those who can access community-based services

Which services does this include?

• Day care services in Rochdale support around 170 service users per year through five providers
• 95% of these services are from three main providers – PossAbilities, Gateway and Pure Innovation working from a number of different sites around the Borough

Why does the Council think this needs to change?

• This review has being triggered by Covid-19, but the development of personalisation and increased uptake of personal cash budgets gives us an opportunity to create a wider range of day time opportunities for people.
• Compared to many other areas Rochdale has relied heavily on a building-based support model rather than moving towards more community-based activities
• We want to move away from one-size-fits-all solutions. Instead we want to see more flexible, community-based options

What are the financial challenges?

• Budgets are limited – especially after Covid
• New financial banding and the move towards payment on attendance (it’s been agreed to delay these changes)
• We are about to start re-assessing day service users according to the new banding to understand their needs and how best to address these through person centred planning. For some this will result in reductions in support

What are the other challenges?

• Capacity of buildings limited by social distancing;
• Wide range of needs being catered for;
• Growing a market of ‘micro’ providers offering different opportunities

What are the opportunities?

• There are some excellent examples from other areas of meaningful day services with links into employment or volunteering including:
  • Parks or grounds maintenance
  • Highways
  • Community Cafes
  • Volunteering in libraries, leisure centres, or community centres
• Develop closer links between Shared Lives carers and Day services
  • Supporting service users living at home with elderly or vulnerable parents
  • Creating links between Shared Lives carers and potential future placements and support
  • This provides a more effective alternative to crisis support
• Creating space for more projects like these:

• https://www.smallgoodstuff.co.uk/the-buzz/
• https://www.funkyfitnessandfun.co.uk/
• https://www.communitycatalysts.co.uk/story/shabby-sleek/

Timetable for the Review

• We need to have your feedback by the end of October 2020
• We will be carrying out research and dialogue for the rest of 2020 and will publish a first draft of our report early in 2021 for wider consultation.
• The project will be complete by the end of March 2021