Bucks Council wants to stop delivering the services at four of its seven day centres and deliver them elsewhere, while keeping three of the sites open under a plan to save £14.4 million in adult social care over the next 18 months.
Day centres used by vulnerable adults will be closed and sold off if plans drawn up by Buckinghamshire Council are followed through.
The unitary authority runs a service called ‘short breaks’ to help adults with autism, learning and physical disabilities, mental health needs, dementia and other complex needs improve their lives and skills with vital support and activities.
The plan, the council’s ‘preferred option’, would see the day centres in Aylesbury, Chesham and Spring Valley in High Wycombe kept open, while those in Buckingham, Burnham, Hillcrest in High Wycombe and Seeleys House in Beaconsfield would be repurposed or sold.
Selling the Burnham, Hillcrest and Seeleys House sites could make generate a ‘capital receipt’ of between £2.14 and £6.77 million for the council, while the Buckingham centre could be used for provision for young people special educational needs and disabilities.
The council argues that its short breaks service ‘is not providing value for money’ compared to other services, that the ‘building-based day care is now out-dated’ and that demand for the service has dropped by 61 per cent since 2020, meaning that it now only supports 128 people across the seven sites.
For the full background and original article click here.
Burnham residents have organized an event on Saturday at 10:00 am, (18th January 2025). They will be assembling outside the Burnham Adult Day Care Centre to express their opposition to the council's potential decision to close the facility.
Organiser, Cole Caesar, says " It is essential to highlight the concerns of the Burnham residents regarding this council decision."
Cole Caesar talking to Bucks Radio about his event on Saturday.
Buckinghamshire Council has been asked for comment.
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