Consultation over future of Harrow's mental health day care centres could be extended

Feb 10 2012 By Ian Proctor

CONCERNS over the future of Harrow's mental health day care service has prompted the councillor responsible to say she's "very happy to consider" extending the consultation.

Questioners told Councillor Margaret Davine (Labour), portfolio holder for adult social care, at the authority's cabinet committee meeting yesterday evening that they took issue with the not only the substance of the proposals - which affect 800 people and could see one or more of the service's three bases closed - but of the way the information was publicised.

Ms Davine apologised and said she was "very disappointed" that the draft consultation document was not approved by the steering group, which had been working on the background to it for a year, before copies were distributed through the centres in December last year.

She said: "The consultation has run for the complete 12 weeks that our local compact advises.

"Easy read versions have been developed and we have translated it into Hindi and Gujarati. That's a relatively recent development.

"Mental health carers in the borough have been asked to discuss the consultation with people that they support and help them fill in the questionnaire if necessary.

"I'm happy to see the timescale extended [beyond March 2] and to hold more of these qualitative meetings to spread of the information as widely as possible." 

This is the first of two stages to reform the borough's mental health day centre service. This first is to decide what operating model should be adopted and a subsequent consultation will shape the service specification required to find a provider to run the service.

Consequently, the future of The Bridge Day Centre in Christchurch Avenue, Wealdstone, and Wiseworks Enterprises and Marlborough Hill Resource Centre, both in Marlborough Hill, Harrow, is being considered.

Mark Gillham, chief executive of Mind In Harrow, said: "Service users are very concerned about the uncertainty about certain day centres closing."

Ms Davine replied: "We have to recognise we're in a very tight financial situation so we're looking to get in place the best possible day care system that we can.

"However, this is not a cost savings exercise. I cannot say there is any preference to keep any particular buildings open."