Future of Melrose Day Centre in Shotton to be discussed this week by Councillors.

The results of a consultation about the future of services at the Melrose Day Centre in Shotton will be discussed by councillors this week.

Flintshire County Council currently provides day services for older people five days a week in four main centres – Melrose, Marleyfield House, Croes Atti and The Old Brewery.

The service provides both dementia and generic day care across all the centres.

Day services help keep people at home for as long as possible and meet the needs of respite care, to support carers as well as the cared for. The average age of people attending day services is 85 years old.

The Melrose provides mostly generic day care and, over the last year, occupancy levels for people using the generic day care service have dropped. The building is also in need of capital funding.

The consultation provided an opportunity to work with all service users and their families, to listen to their views about the Centre’s future, to assess the needs of those using the facility, and see whether alternative support could be provided, if appropriate.

Over 75% of people who use the Melrose, and their families, took part in the consultation, which featured four options, which are listed in full in the committee report.

Although there was clear support for option one, supporting the status quo, there was acceptance that the second option – to transfer the day services to a new organisation – also had merit, provided that this accommodated all service users within the new premises.

The consultation will be discussed at the Social and Health Care Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting this Thursday (14 May) where Members will be asked to consider the outcome of the consultation. The final decision regarding future provision of day care will be made by Cabinet.

Councillor Christine Jones, Cabinet Member for Social Services said:

“The Council recognises and understands the vital role that day care plays in supporting carers and vulnerable people, and we are keen for that support to continue. We have listened to our service users and their families and we remain committed to ensuring that each person’s individual circumstances are considered. However, as a result of the unprecedented financial pressures facing us, all services are under careful scrutiny to determine how we can design our services to meet the needs of our local communities at a cost we can afford in today’s financial climate.”