Fears of cuts at day centre (From Witney Gazette)

Fears of cuts at day centre

9:00am Wednesday 5th July 2006 in Witney By Samantha Simpson

A PLEDGE has been made that Witney's new 'super' day centre will match services already provided in the town and offer a better range of care for some of its most vulnerable residents.

Campaigners held a demonstration in the town on Friday over fears that day centre places could be cut by up to 50 per cent, after Oxfordshire County Council announced it was merging three centres, the Elms, Willows, and Moorland, under one roof at the recently-closed Moorview Hospital.

The group of about ten campaigners issued a warning that 'three into one does not go', and said that services, which provide day care and support for elderly people and adults with learning disabilities, would be reduced.

But Oxfordshire County Council said the concerns were unfounded, and gave the assurance that the new centre would provide the same number of spaces as the existing centres, with a greater level of support services and care.

The council is renovating Moorview Hospital which partly closed two weeks ago under plans by the Oxfordshire's mental health trust to save a projected £7.2m hole in its budget into a day centre, due to open in April 2007.

Campaigners said they had carried out research that showed up to 100 people per day used existing day care centres in the town, and they feared the number of spaces provided by the new centre would drop to between 50 and 60.

Richard Dossett-Davies, a West Oxfordshire Green Party member, who was among about campaigners at the demonstration, said: "Plans to close the existing day centres could mean a reduction of 50 per cent in day care places and other services for older people and those with disabilities or mental health problems.

"Despite the spin that squeezing services into the old hospital will create a 'super' day centre, we suspect that this is being driven by a wish to sell off the Elms and Moorland buildings and land, replacing them with a lesser service. The numbers do not add up."

But Nick Welch, from the county council's social and community services planning team, said the accusations were 'wide of the mark, to say the least'.

He said that some of the existing day centres, including the Elms, in Church Green, were in a 'poor' condition, and did not meet the standards that should be expected of a modern day centre. He also said there was not going to be any cuts in the level of funding put into the services.

Mr Welch added: "As far as I am concerned, this is not the case and in fact there will be an improvement. We are not reducing space numbers, and we are increasing opportunities for people."