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Press release

Day centre review brought forward

Wednesday 24 January 2007

A review of day services at Homefield Place in Seaford is to be brought forward, East Sussex County Council has announced.

The Council currently provides 25 day care places for older people with mental health problems at the centre and had planned the work for later in the year as part of a wider review of all services it provides directly for older people and people with learning disabilities.

But it has been rescheduled to begin in early February after Sussex Partnership NHS Trust confirmed that it is to close beds for people with mental health problems that it manages at the centre.

Senior officers decided it was crucial to begin the review at the earliest possible time because of uncertainty caused by the Trust's decision.

Cllr Bill Bentley, Lead Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care, said: "We have had a set timetable in place for several weeks but we must now get on with the work earlier than we had planned. This is because of the anxiety some service users, staff and carers are feeling now that the Trust is closing beds it manages alongside the County Council day centre. Any delay is likely to cause further distress."

Cllr Bentley said the review will consider whether the centre will be capable of meeting the needs of future service users. It will also consider whether Homefield Place is providing council tax payers value for money and, if it is not, how services can be provided more efficiently and effectively.

Staff conducting the review will ask whether the services match up to the best standards in the independent and voluntary sectors. They will take account of the views of service users, staff and partner agencies, including the voluntary sector, during the work.

Cllr Bentley added: "We have a duty to review the way we use public funds on a regular basis to make sure the services we provide are fit for purpose. I want to stress that this does not necessarily mean services will be withdrawn if they are working well. When the review is finished, we will consider several options, including not changing the provision of services at all.

"This exercise is part of a wider effort to modernise and become even more streamlined so that we can keep up pace with a changing social care profile to meet all of the needs of our citizens effectively."

It is hoped that a recommendation about future use of the day centre can be prepared for consideration by the County Council's Cabinet in June.

Notes to editors

For more information, please call Mike Taggart on 01273 482155.


Reference: 1266

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East Sussex County Council, County Hall, St Anne's Crescent, Lewes, BN7 1UE. Tel: 01273 481000