Two Day Centre Facilities For Older People in Wrexham Face Closure

Two centres which provide day services for older people in the Wrexham area face closure.

In a report due before the Executive Board on Tuesday 13 December it has been recommended that day services provided by Wrexham Council at Caia Park and Plas yn Rhos are decommissioned.

It has also been recommended that Wrexham Council ceases being a direct provider of older people’s day services.

Proposals to close the day centre provision for older people was first mooted in Wrexham Council’s Difficult Decisions document, which notes that the authority has been ‘gradually moving away from being a direct provider of traditional ‘day centre’ provision for older people’.

It is estimated that £47,000 in savings could be generated if the two day centres were closed.

The proposals to cease the services have been put forward due to them ‘no longer being required’ and the changing needs of the population.

Further details about the proposals are provided within the Executive Board report, which notes: “The needs of the Service Users who use Caia Park and Plas yn Rhos day centres can be met by alternative service providers and the concerns and anxieties expressed during the consultation period can be overcome through careful and sensitive transition planning.”

The proposals have been met with some controversy, with several members of the Safeguarding, Communities & Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee last month questionning if enough had been done to promote the services available at the two centres.

A petition opposing the closure of the Caia Park facility also gained 57 signatures.

If the recommendation is approved by the Executive Board the Caia Park facility, which is owned by Wrexham Council would become ‘surplus to requirements’. The future use of the building would then be considered by the Assets and Economic Development department.

Plas yn Rhos operates from accomodation owned by Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board and is connected to a health centre and a sheltered housing scheme run by Clwyd Alyn. If the day centre facilities were to close the accomodation would revert back to the Health Board.

The report will go before Wrexham Council’s Executive Board at 10am on Tuesday 13 December. For those who cannot attend the meeting it will be webcast live on the Wrexham Council website.