Agenda item

Report ACH21-048

The Committee considered a report setting out plans to increase day activity opportunities for older people, with a focus on those older people supported by the Council’s Adult Care Service and those older residents who self-fund their own care and support.

Day activities for older people typically involved planned activities to support them with aspects of daily living and in particular the opportunity to meet other people and socialise. These services were run by care professionals and volunteers and were often in non-residential, group settings. Day care enabled older people who had care needs, and/or who were at risk of social isolation, to engage in social and organised activities. An important function of older people’s day services was also to provide a regular respite break to carers. Day care settings could include purpose-built day centres; day centres attached to or part of a care home; community buildings (with shared use); sports and leisure activity venues; cafes, restaurants and pubs (for example, lunch clubs); and outdoor private and public spaces.

The Assistant Director for Integrated Commissioning advised that older people’s day care provision in Bromley had, in the main, been provided along traditional lines through buildings-based day centres. A typical service offer would be one where older people who could not be fully independent would attend a day facility where a range of recreational activities would take place. Most older people in Bromley would need to self-fund their attendance at a day centre. The Council supported those older people who met criteria for full or part Council funding through a Direct Payment enabling the older person and/or any carers to purchase day support and through this they may choose to attend a day centre. An early consequence of the government’s lockdown in response to the Covid-19 pandemic was a requirement that all older people’s day centres commissioned by local authorities be temporarily closed in April 2020. This requirement was briefly lifted in early autumn 2020 and then reinstated when Covid cases increased in November 2020. Day centres could reopen in the summer of 2021 where government guidance on social distancing and other infection control and protection measures were put in place. With financial support from the Council, and with Public Health Services guidance and support, day activities for older people resumed from August 2021. It was noted that the return of older people to day centres had been very slow.

In the period leading up to the pandemic lockdown and subsequently, influenced by the pandemic itself, there had been a marked decline in demand for day centres from those older people and carers supported by the Council’s social care services and self-funding older people. The Council had been working with Community Links Bromley and current day activity providers to look at day centre demand and the impact of the pandemic on day activities for older people. Workshops considered the outcomes of a survey of older people who were attending day centres in 2020 prior to the beginning of the pandemic lockdown, and reviewed how day activity providers developed new services to support people in lockdown. In response to a question, the Assistant Director for Integrated Commissioning said feedback had highlighted that carers needed respite – older people needed social activities that connected them with other people, but where these activities took place was less important. It was agreed that the summary of the consultation with service users and their families regarding day centres would be recirculated to the Committee.

Working with voluntary and community groups, actions to be taken forward to increase access to day activities for older people included:

-  A service e-directory for residents and care workers/advisers, in order to know what was available and accessible.

-  Mapping the availability of existing community activities and other assets and identifying any gaps in terms of type of provision or coverage across the borough.

-  Pump priming funds for new services – working with Bromley Well to prioritise the Innovation Fund to support the development of new local day activity projects, particularly in relation to any gaps highlighted by the mapping work.

-  Online services – during the lockdown, several existing providers established online day activities. Feedback from providers was that the online offers were popular, and several would be continued in some form alongside in-person activities.

-  Extra Care Housing Schemes extending activities to non-tenants.

In response to questions, the Assistant Director for Integrated Commissioning said that six Council supported Extra Care Housing schemes had on-site, purpose-built communal facilities designed to support older people and people with disabilities. Providers had started to look to identify days and times when these facilities were not being used, and to also offer some of the activities delivered to other local residents who could purchase via direct payment. It was highlighted that people were still very cautious about Covid, and there was a need to ensure that those attending activities were kept safe, but all providers were interested in progressing these conversations. It was noted that this work focused on activities for older people, however at other community venues it would be helpful to have a provision of intergenerational projects.

In response to a question, the Assistant Director for Integrated Commissioning advised that voluntary organisations would require volunteers to complete DBS checks as they wanted quality assurance. It was noted that those who were funded through direct payments made their own choices about the services they purchased.

RESOLVED that the Committee note the actions being undertaken by the Council to increase day activity opportunities for older people.