Haringey Council does U-turn on day centre closures

HARINGEY Council has reversed a decision to close some of its day centres for older people in a victory for campaigners.

Councillors decided to close three centres and merge two others last December, in the face of Government cuts to the council’s budget.

Campaigners – along with Tottenham MP David Lammy – called on the council to rethink its decision at a meeting at Haringey Irish Centre in July, saying the closures were “unacceptable” and would affect the mental health of vulnerable people.

And in proposals to be rubber-stamped at a meeting tonight, the council says the Haven centre in Waltheof Gardens will now stay open, while Grange in White Hart Lane and Haynes in Park Road will no longer be merged into one.

But Woodside in White Hart Lane and Six8Four in High Road will still close by next April at the latest.

Councillor Dilek Dogus, cabinet member for adult social services, said: “Having listened to those affected by the proposals as well as analysing the market, I am confident the suggested changes will ensure the continuity of high quality care for the most vulnerable in our community.

“We identified critical gaps in the alternative provision that individual families would be able to obtain through their personalised budgets.

“If these centres were to close, we would have real concerns that people using the service would become socially isolated and the job of carers made even harder.”

The Haven centre will still face changes – it will gradually reduce its service for those with disabilities from five to three days a week, with two days being set aside for those with mental health problems in the east of the borough.

Grange and Haynes – which provide care for adults with dementia – will continue to provide the services they do now, as well as taking on extra users affected by the closure of Woodside.

Users of all the centres will get a personal budget to spend on services by April 2013 as part of wide-ranging changes to social service provision across the UK in a bid to boost independence for those with disabilities.

The £233,000 needed to keep the centres open will be found from the council’s budget for stroke care, and “efficiencies” in the voluntary sector.