Proposals to change Older People’s Community Day Services

This consultation is about changes Merton Council are looking to make regarding day opportunities for people with Dementia and older people with additional needs.

On the 1 March, Merton Council approved its budget for 2023-24. As part of the process of setting a balanced budget, one proposal is to close Eastway Day Centre in Morden and seek to join 2 services together to offer an enhanced community-based model at the Dementia Hub in Mitcham and in other parts of the community. We understand this may be different to the current services, however we are determined to continue to meet the needs of our customers.

The questionnaire below is part of a wider engagement exercise to ensure that all views are heard and help to inform the final decision on the future of day opportunities for older people in Merton. A more detailed questionnaire has been sent to all customers and carers of Eastway Day Centre.

Merton Council commissions the Alzheimer’s Society to provide Community Dementia Services including the Dementia Hub in Mitcham.  The Dementia Hub has developed over the last year to incorporate a building based and outreach model for community dementia services. We are continuing to work with the Alzheimer’s Society to develop an enhanced community service for people throughout their dementia journey. The Community Dementia Services will provide community-based support, Dementia Hub based activities, information, advice and education for people with Dementia, wellbeing assessment and support planning, peer support and information, advice and education for carers, Dementia friendly communities and volunteer support.

We want to hear from residents with Dementia and/or older people with additional needs, their families, carers, services that support older people including people with Dementia and other people that support Dementia Friendly Communities.

Following a consultation with people in Merton living with dementia, their families, and the staff who support them, the administration has decided to halt the proposals to close Eastway Day Centre. This is because the consultation made it clear that to do so could put people in a position where they would need to take difficult decisions for their families – and the administration have been clear that this would not be appropriate.

Furthermore, the consultation showed a desire in the community for a wider range of dementia support services in Merton, which would need to be in place before any changes to Eastway are considered. Therefore, we will commission specialist support to undertake a review of the current provision in Merton to identify the current gaps and co-design a new model of dementia support, through engagement with service users, their families, and other stakeholders.

On this basis the proposal has been halted until the referenced further work is complete and a fully informed key decision can be taken by the Cabinet.