New Wolverhampton community hub to offer care services
Physiotherapy and care for people being discharged from hospital is to be put into a community centre following the axing of respite care beds.
Health bosses in Wolverhampton have drawn up plans to use Warstones Resource Centre to 'bridge the gap' between hospital and home. It comes as part of controversial plans to turn it into a 'community services hub' with a new home for Warstones Library, which is to be shut in council cuts. However, Wolverhampton City Council has yet to decide where exactly within the Warstones Drive centre the library would go.
Wolverhampton Clinical Commissioning Group is looking to create an 'intermediate care' unit at Warstones with physiotherapy, speech therapy and falls prevention services.
Respite beds for dementia sufferers have already been moved out to council care homes in Pendeford and Merry Hill.
Councillor Elias Mattu, Wolverhampton City Council's leisure boss, said: "We have not formally identified a location for Warstones Library within the former resource centre building and are currently exploring all the options.
"We're keen to hear people's suggestions about where they would like to see it located, bearing in mind of course that we're having to work within the existing building. And we'd also welcome thoughts and opinions from the community about other services which could be offered from the hub during the three-month engagement process which is now under way."
It has not yet been revealed how much the changes will cost but the community hubs programme, which is seeing other libraries across the city moved, is expected to save up to £1 million a year.
Councillor Mattu said: "The city council is working closely with Wolverhampton Clinical Commissioning Group to explore and understand its requirements.
"Once these become clear, we will be able to start work on estimating all the costs associated with this project, taking into account such diverse issues as the internal building layout and any required reconfigurations, regulatory requirements, the community's views and so on."
More information about the proposals will be available at the public meeting at the former Warstones Resource Centre on October 22 from 2-4pm.
