Care bosses have insisted a community hub’s £150,000 revamp is value for money and will provide ‘quality’ services for vulnerable and older people. The new Hub Alkrington, in Middleton, was launched in July as a ‘one-stop’ shop enabling adults to access a range of wellbeing and care services.
Championed by Rochdale council as ‘an innovative community facility’,the Hardfield Road building was formerly home to its axed Moving On service for people with brain injuries.As well as ‘signposting’ borough residents to advice and mental health services, the hub also showcases a virtual ‘smart house’ featuring forms of ‘assistive technology’ that help people live independently.
Organisations providing services at the facility include Kickstart with Hope - which continues the work of Moving On - HMR Circle, Mind, Your Trust and the council’s adult care service. However the Better Health 4 Middleton (BH4M) community group has criticised the council for going about things ‘the wrong way around’ - arguing that the public should have been consulted before it opened.
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The group also questions whether the makeover represents value for money, given bookings by voluntary and charity organisations currently account for two days a week, plus an hour on Fridays. Bosses say they are looking to ‘grow’ the hub - and point out it can be open on request and weekly usage varies depending on referrals and bookings for the smart house.
Claire Richardson, the council's director of adult care, stresses that the boroughwide service is at the heart of the authority's strategy to improve people’s mental wellbeing and reduce health inequalities. She said: “Through ongoing consultation and engagement, community groups and residents will continue to have the opportunity to shape future service provision, as the hub continues to grow and expand.
“Along with our new virtual smart house, which displays a range of assistive technology services for our residents, we are confident the hub will provide quality, value for money, services for older and vulnerable people in the borough.” South Middleton councillor Pat Dale, who chairs the council’s health school and care scrutiny committee, agrees the hub is key to tackling inequalities across the borough of Rochdale. And she says that - while the intention is to ‘grow’ the hub - organisations will have to demonstrate they can meet people’s needs and are focused on ‘improving people’s lives and wellbeing’.
“There has been some misinformation around what the hub is about,” she told the Local Democracy Reporting Service . "I think people thought it was a replacement for what was there before [Moving On] - that’s not the case. “Adult social care is working really hard to make sure we get other groups - charities and independent groups - in there to provide a wealth of activities, not just for the community in Alkrington, but across the whole borough. We are growing it.”
Coun Dale says the revamp was badly needed to ensure the hub provides a welcoming environment rather than a building that is ‘cold and damp’. “The success will be in the number of people that use it once it’s up and running and you have the groups in there that should be in there,” she said.
“At the moment we are in challenging times, we know that lots of businesses are finding it really hard to recruit people. But, fingers crossed - because it’s a beautiful building, and we are very clear what we want to use it for - that will attract the groups that will make a real difference to the people of the borough.”
Addressing BH4M’s claim the council had gone about things ‘the wrong way round’, she added: “I think what had to happen is we had to be very clear in terms of the plan - what we wanted the hub to deliver and we think they have got that right now.”
However, Tony Ettenfield, of BH4M remains unconvinced, despite assurances from councillors and local authority bosses.“Waiting for organisations to come forward and offer their service is not the way forward,” he said.
“I said you should be asking the people first ‘what do you want’ - it’s not a case of what businesses want to provide,” he said. “What they want to provide may not be what the community wants. “We’re still pretty much in the same scenario until they can get their act in gear. To me, it’s still completely the wrong way around.”
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