Campaigners launch petition to save dementia care home and day centre in Sheffield from closure

Campaigners have launched a petition to save a care home which offers short term respite dementia care and a day centre, that have been earmarked for closure, by Sheffield Council.

respite care centre in Crookes and Norbury day centre, in Norwood, are set to close, after a consultation was held on the future of Sheffield’s services for dementia sufferers.

Bole Hill View centre which has 20 beds, will close at the end of March 2014 and the Norbury day centre in Norwood, which provides 220 places a week, will close at the end of March 2013.

Most services from Norbury will be transferred to the one remaining centre, Hurlfield View, in Gleadless Common, which will be extended from 16 to 20 beds.

If the two buildings close, it will save £835,000 and the council has pledged to to invest in providing more services to people at home. A total of 110 staff work at the three centres and 20 are set to lose their jobs.

Councillor Mary Lea, Sheffield City Council’s cabinet member for health, care and independent living said: “Our vision is that people with dementia can be supported to live an active, independent, fulfilled life at home for longer, and the new approach will allow this by giving people with dementia greater choice in how they access support. People with complex needs have told us that they would like to access more services at home. At the same time we recognise that some people continue to want to access support at a resource centre.

“We are therefore working closely with Sheffield Health and Social Care Trust to find ways to reduce the number of buildings we need to support people and make the service provide more flexible and responsive to changing needs.

She added: “We do need to save money and find more innovative ways in delivering services that get it right for those people we support. Keeping buildings open that are underused or do not meet the changing needs of local people with dementia is not a good use of ever-decreasing funding. With on-going severe cuts from Government, which cast a gloomy shadow over a range of services councils can provide, we have to plan for a future with less funding.”

Under the proposals, no-one will receive less support than they currently get, according to Clive Clarke, deputy chief executive of Sheffield Health and Social Care Trust, who said: “They might get support in a different way, in an alternative location, such as community buildings or in their own homes. Traditional day support will still be offered. We want to improve care for people with dementia, not to reduce services or leave people without the support they need.

“We know people do better when they stay in the familiar surroundings of their own homes supported by the Council and other organisations. Nowadays people get their own budget to buy the support that suits them and their families. Many do not choose traditional care.”

Campaigner Amy Bland has set up a No 10 e-petition against the closures. The petition says ‘with the rising amount of patients unfortunate enough to be diagnosed with this illness, closure of such facilities will put strain on the patients as well as the families struggling to help their loved ones. Having two grandparents suffer from this illness I have witnessed first-hand the devastating effects this has and how much help these centres give to those in need.'

Cllr Rob Frost, local Liberal Democrat councillor for Crookes, called Bole Hill View “a vital part of our local community” and said it “supports some of the most vulnerable people in our area. Labour should listen to local people and rule out closure as an option.”

The proposals will be discussed at the council’s cabinet meeting on 31 October.