The proposals had received backlash and went on to spark strike action
The newly elected leader of Lambeth Council has announced an “immediate pause” on plans to shut down the borough’s only dedicated day care centre for people living with dementia.
Last month (May 14), Unison members from the Day Centre on the Central Hill Estate in Crystal Palace began strike action as they fought to protect jobs and stop the site from closing.
Cllr Martin Abrams, who was elected as leader of the council on Monday evening (June 1), said the pause will allow the council to have the time and space needed to properly review the proposal and to assess every available option.
Announcing a pause in the plans on Tuesday (June 2), Cllr Abrams said: “My first action as Leader of Lambeth Council has been to announce an immediate pause to the planned closure of the Central Hill Dementia Day Centre.
“We have listened carefully to the concerns raised by residents, families, staff, trade unions and campaigners.
“The service provides vital support to people living with dementia and their loved ones, and it is right that we take the time to review the situation thoroughly before any further decisions are made.”
The pause will also see any voluntary or compulsory redundancy processes put on hold while the council undertakes a detailed review of the proposal and alternative options.
The council said the centre remains open and is continuing to accept new referrals.
Simon Hannah, joint branch secretary of Lambeth Unison, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): “This is a real win for Unison members fighting for proper public services.
“I’m so proud of everyone that took action and fought for what is right. Public services don’t have to be destroyed in the name of austerity.”
The plans, which were unveiled under Lambeth Council’s previous Labour administration, involved moving existing services to the Aspire Wellbeing Centre in West Norwood, a nearby organisation which works with adults with learning difficulties.
Concerns had been raised over the proposed venue at Aspire Wellbeing as it was reportedly a “single room” which backed onto an open car park.
Staff were also in fear of losing their jobs because only three posts were available at the new venue, when the current site has six workers. Other workers, including a cook, a manager and a facilities officer were also set to lose their jobs.
Cllr David Bridson, the then-Cabinet Member for Healthier Communities, previously said the building at Central Hill had fallen into “significant disrepair” and attendance had dropped.
However an anonymous staff member previously told the LDRS that referrals had been closed for the past 18 months which had resulted in a reduced attendance.
They previously told the LDRS: “[The day centre] is a valuable, dementia-friendly building and we want it to remain open. We want our referrals to be reopened because they’ve been closed for 18 months now, which has reduced the [number of] people that attend.
“We had about 50-odd people on our books, it’s gone down to about 24 now, and that’s because no referrals are coming in. We’ve got the space to grow the service again and the reason why they [the council] were keeping it on hold is they didn’t want to open it up to new people because when we move into the new building it would be quite confusing for them.”
Cllr Jeremy Isaacs, Cabinet Member for Health and Adult Social Care, said the council will now begin a detailed review of alternative funding arrangements and will engage with staff, trade unions, service users, families and partners. Further updates will be announced as work progresses.
Cllr Isaacs said: “People living with dementia deserve access to high quality, compassionate support within their communities. The decision to pause the closure plans is an important step that will allow us to undertake a thorough review of all possible options.
“I look forward to working closely with residents, staff, health partners and trade unions as we examine how we can provide a service valued to support Lambeth residents into the future.”
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