Published on Tuesday 05 December 2023
Residents of the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP Council) area are being invited to have their say on the council’s plans for activities and support for adults with a care need for the future.
This support called ‘day opportunities’, involves planned activities to help enrich people’s lives.
These activities can include learning new skills, hobbies and interests, accessing the community, supported employment and volunteering opportunities and developing friendships and support networks.
These day opportunities help support people with important aspects of independence, socialisation, health, nutrition, employment, volunteering and daily living.
Carers and individuals who use these services were involved in developing the new day opportunities strategy as part of a co-production group with partners from health, social care and the private and voluntary sector.
The plans propose reducing traditional building-based services (historically referred to as day centres) in favour of more opportunities based in communities, which provide a wider range of services and give people more choice and control.
The council currently spends 93% of the budget for day opportunities on building-based services. In comparison, community-based services are more cost effective and can be tailored to individual needs.
Tricuro, a trading company owned by BCP Council, manage eight building-based day opportunity services across the area.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, three of these buildings were taken out of use and have not since reopened.
There are two proposals being considered for the future of these buildings.
- retain three of the eight building-based ‘connect’ services in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and increase community-based services. This will provide clients a blended approach to the council’s day opportunities on offer
- close all eight building-based services and move to a full community-based offer. If people are assessed as needing building-based services, these will be commissioned from the wider day opportunities sector
Counsellor David Brown, Portfolio Holder for Health and Wellbeing, said:
“We are currently consulting on our Day Opportunities Strategy and are actively encouraging all our service users, their carers and families to have their say on the services BCP Council provide.
Over the past year or so we have spoken to many service providers and people who use services to influence the way services are designed, commissioned and delivered. This has helped us draft this strategy to meet their needs.
We are committed to providing day opportunities for those that need them; where they are accessed and how they are delivered may change. Our commitment will always be to provide choice and opportunities to help people live their lives.”
If the council decides to take either of the proposals forward, changes would likely be introduced over a two-year period, from April 2024.
We encourage all users of day opportunities, their carers and families to have their say on what these proposals would mean for them.
The consultation closes on 12 January 2024 at 23:59pm.
haveyoursay.bcpcouncil.gov.uk/changes-to-day-opportunities
We will also be holding drop-in sessions at the day centres for people to come and ask questions, as well as receive any support required to complete questionnaires.
These will be held:
- Parkstone Connect (and Wallisdown Plus) – Thursday 4 January 1.30pm to 3.30pm – Parkstone Connect, Croft Road, Parkstone Poole BH12 3LD
- Christchurch Connect (and Highcliffe Plus) – Monday 8 January 2pm to 4pm – Christchurch Connect, Loring Road, Christchurch BH23 2GZ
- Boscombe Connect (and Westbourne Plus) - Tuesday 9 January 10am to 12pm - Boscombe Connect, 2A Owls Road, Boscombe BH5 1AA
- Moordown Plus - Wednesday 10 January 9.15am to 11.15am – Moordown Plus, 1005 Wimborne Road, Bournemouth BH9 2BS
- Poole Plus – Wednesday 10 January 2pm to 4pm – Poole Plus, 12A Commercial Road, Poole BH14 0JW