Disabilities Hub for people in Southwark

Overview

‘Disabilities Hub’ for people in Southwark

A change is being proposed to the way people with disabilities access support in Southwark. This will see the development of an accessible Hub, to provide information, advice and care and support to individuals whose lives are affected by disability and a change to day centre services in Southwark.

Background

The Care Act 2014, places a duty on local authorities to provide adults in need and their carers with information about care and support arrangements; the care and support choices they have; how the care system operates and how to access this support.

In Southwark, this is known as the ‘local community offer’ and it is proposed that this will be delivered via the establishment of community ‘hubs’ for people with disabilities, people with lived experience of mental health, older people and carers.

These hubs will deal with initial contacts and questions, and where required, will put individuals in contact with a range of universal, preventative and targeted services.

The Care Act requires local authorities to complete assessments for people, including carers, who appear to have a need for care and support. The local authority must then apply a national eligibility threshold to determine whether the individual has eligible needs.

A local authority must help a person plan how their eligible needs will met through the preparation of a care and support plan or support plan for carers.

In Southwark, many individuals with disabilities meet some of their needs by attending a day service, either run by the council, or by an independent organisation and paid for with a personal budget.

What are we consulting on?

The proposal is to develop a disability hub which will provide a range of services for people with disabilities at Southwark Resource Centre. This will provide information, advice and care and support including structured day services.

The Camden Society previously leased two buildings from Southwark Council to use as day centres. These leases have now ended.

The council is working with The Camden Society to renew one of these leases at the Riverside day centre in Bermondsey.

The council’s preferred option for the Queens Road site in Peckham is its redevelopment for use by Southwark staff caring for some of the borough’s most vulnerable children and young people. For this reason the council does not propose to renew the lease at Queens Road and as a result the day centre would close.

The council already has a modern and purpose built centre for people with disabilities at the Southwark Resource Centre in Walworth. This centre is designed to provide services for adults with physical disabilities.

Because this building is designed and adapted for people with disabilities and has the potential to offer a wider range of services and supports, the centre is proposed as a potential site from which to operate a Disabilities Hub.

The centre provides services to people with physical disabilities, including sensory impairments, but the council considers that the centre is also suitable for people with learning disabilities. The development of a Disabilities Hub at Southwark Resource Centre would seek to expand the reach of this service to include people with learning disabilities.

Why your views matter

You will have heard on the news about the significant financial challenges all councils face in meeting adult social care needs. At the same time, demand for adult social care services is increasing. We need to look at the services provided in Southwark to ensure appropriate resources are available to protect our most vulnerable residents.

The council recognises that if the Queens Road day centre closes this will result in a disruption to people currently accessing services at the centre. However, all individuals with an eligible need accessing Queens Road will continue to receive services that are appropriate to meet their needs.

By bringing together a range of services into one hub, we are able to maximise choice and minimise cost.

The council wants to now seek the views from people who are or may be affected by these proposals.

An 'Easy Read' version of this consultation is available to download from this website.

Translation and interpreting service

The council provides a free translation and interpreting service to those residents who need it to access essential council services and who cannot get help from family and friends. If you need this service contact 0207 525 2333

Thank you for taking the time to complete the survey

What happens next