Adult Social Care & Health News
updated 7th Nov 2011
UNISON opposes £1.5 million spending cuts in adult social care
UNISON has registered its opposition to the £1.5 million spending cut in adult social care announced yesterday. This represents an attack on front line staff and their ability to provide a decent service to users and the public as a whole. 137 jobs are at risk with field work teams and Sherwood Industries the hardest hit. If volunteers do come forward to leave employment, those jobs will still be lost, probably for ever.
We hope to meet departmental heads in the next fortnight to clarify what is being proposed, and express the views of members. Please give us your views and questions so that we can take them to that meeting.
Please remember that this is a consultation not the final decision. We therefore hope that staff express their views about how difficult it will be to maintain the vital services in the department and how it will impact on our own well-being. Thanks
Pete Watson
ASCHPP Convenor
Sherwood industries stop the closure
Could you please take ten minutes to look at the on-line questionnaire which is gathering opinion about the closure of Sherwood Industries. Online questionaire
This is a council owned company that builds and sells furniture. Most workers there have a physical or learning disability and face unemployment.
The council prefers to spend millions on private suppliers of furniture rather than its own company. UNISON is opposed to the closure. We believe that there are some biased questions in this survey and you may find at least question 1 difficult to answer but please 10 minutes to fill in the questions that you can. Your views about the cuts in horticultural services are valued too.
Thanks
Pete Watson
Adult Social Care UNISON
There will be a UNISON demonstration outside County Hall on Thursday 22nd September - more info to follow.
Leaflet re County Hall demo 22nd Sept (download 370kb) - 19/09/11
P R E S S R E L E A S E
RE EPH SALES
Notts UNISON are totally opposed to the proposed sale of 6 Local Authority Elderly Persons Homes to the private sector. We believe that such a proposal is a denial of choice for elderly people and their carers, and will represent a bad deal for the residents, their carers and the staff working in the homes.
It is a disgrace that the 6 homes are being sold at all at a time when all the uncertainties of private sector care have been brought into stark focus by the events at Southern Cross (the largest private provider of elderly care) and at Castlebeck. The proposed sale of 6 homes for only £2 million is a scandalous drain of public money to private profiteers. They will be buying the homes at a fraction of their true worth and will only be required to keep the homes open for 3 years under the tender arrangements.
We call on the Council to reverse these proposals and we will be launchiing a campaign to keep those homes public and to safe guard residents and staff.
There will be a UNISON demonstration outside County Hall on Thursday 22nd September - more info to follow.
Stop the Cuts - Join the Protest 30th June 8.30am County Hall
Conservative controlled Nottinghamshire County Council meets on Thursday 30 June to agree major cuts to social care provision across the county.
Adult day care centres forced to close
The council plans to close 35 specialist adult day centres, and replace these with just 13 generic ones. UNISON fears this will leave too few centres, forcing elderly or vulnerable people to travel further. Over 118 care staff face the sack.
Supporting People budgets halved
The council also plans to cut £10million of funding to ‘Supporting People’ projects—with many axed or cut as much as 50%. The council under-spent by £24million in the last financial year, but intends to cut frontline services to the most vulnerable and needy. The council claims it has consulted widely on these plans, but UNISON fears these cuts have yet to be fully explained to those most likely to face them.
Calling all staff… Please join our protest before you start work (all welcome) Please back our demonstration ahead of the Full Council meeting on 30 June. We’ll be protesting from 8.30am (the council meeting starts at 10am). All staff, service users and community groups welcome. Make some noise so your councillors can hear you!!!
Stop the Cuts 30th June leaflet (263k PDF)
PRESS RELEASE FROM NOTTINGHAMSHIRE UNISON - 21st June 11
UNISON fears Notts County Council day care review will lead to poor service for vulnerable adults. UNISON today (Tues 21 June) said plans by Nottinghamshire County Council to close 12 adult day care centres could result in vulnerable service users denied a service and left alone at home.
The council had already introduced transport, food and service charges earlier this year, leading some users to stop using services. UNISON fears plans to close 12 specialist centres to leave just 13 ‘one service fits all’ centres could mean more users miss out.
The sale of Elderly Peoples Homes means existing support centres in those location will also go, with residents being bussed in to the new centres for just two sessions a week.
At a formal briefing this afternoon, the union pressed the council to confirm how many users the new centres would facilitate.
At the start of 2011, as many as 3,300 service users were accessing day care centres, and the council has not said how many could expect a service in the future. UNISON is prepared to enter into talks to review the current service, but fears the council plans to rush through closures to make a £5million one-off saving next year.
The council had identified savings before undertaking a review of adult day care services, with the union feeling that genuine consultation, based on service user needs, has not taken place.
Martin Sleath, Joint Branch Secretary of Nottinghamshire UNISON said:
“The £5million savings can only come from compulsory redundancies and reducing the number of service users who currently get a service. There is no news on the how many people these 13 centres can look after, and UNISON has grave concerns that more vulnerable or elderly people will become prisoners in their own homes. Thirteen centres is too few, and we would want talks on a more appropriate level of service.”
UNISON intends to meet with NCC to push them further on the detail of their plans. The Full Council is due to discuss final proposals on Thursday 30 June at County Hall, West Bridgford.
UNISON will hold a protest ahead of the council meeting from 8.30am, and is encouraging service users to contact their local County Councillor as a matter of urgency.
Contact: Martin Sleath, Nottinghamshire UNISON Joint Branch Secretary – Tel 07872 197912
*************
UNISON, the largest County Council Trade Union, has expressed its outrage at the latest proposed Council cuts.
These will affect every area of the Council, with massive reductions in services and thousands of redundancies. For example:
Adult Social Care and Health Dept:
- Sale of all Elderly Persons’ Homes
- Closure of Day Centres for elderly and disabled people and people with mental health problems
- Scrapping of the Welfare Rights Service
- Massive restrictions on home services for elderly people
We all need to protest against these cuts -
Come and join the mass lobby of County Hall on Thursday 21st October - see Home page for coach details
Campaign to save Middle Street Resource Centre
Press release from the Local Campaign Group
Mental health service users are involved in an inspiring campaign to keep Middle Street Resource centre in Beeston open.
It is threatened with closure under council cuts. £434,994 is the planned cut in vital frontline day services across the county including Rokerfield and Boundary centres.
However service users have not taken this lying down. A regular group has come together which is involved in petitioning, contacting councillors, and letter writing. 100 users came to a meeting to hear senior management proposals and voice opposition. 80 came to meet Councillor Rostance, cabinet member for Adult Social Care. 400 signed a petition at the Greyhound pub, and the local Oxfam shop is also running the petition.
A “Save Middle Street” petition can be found online at www.gopetition.com
Notts UNISON supports community campaigns against council cuts. We have produced a letter against these cuts in mental health which is available at the union office or can be downloaded here. We hope that links can be built across communities and with staff. Unity will win!
23 July 2010
The privatisation agenda moves at a very fast pace, and we know the people of Nottinghamshire will suffer, of that there is no doubt, along with all loyal and hard working committed staff.
To our amazement the Council have recently released information that £8 million extra savings have already been found and those have been placed once again in Reserves!!! This is along with the £10.4 million underspend which was reported to the full Council in January 2010!
Reserves are for difficult and rainy days!! Its pouring, yet this direction simply reinstates the cruel facts......
Welfare and Community Services destruction!
Placing families on the poverty line!
Selling Off, the best of Nottinghamshire's Assets to greedy wealthy people, who don't have Normal people as there priorities, just profits !!!
So Rufford and Sherwood Parks Go. Disabled workers (29) plus supporting staff at County Enterprise Foods, lose their jobs and are condemned to benefits. Loose their mortgages and houses, and lives destroyed - Yet they have recently just achieved a £3 million Contract.
Sherwood Industries at Risk...Brook Farm at Risk...
Highways at Risk...
Catering Sell out...
Cleaning Sell out...
Highways Sell out...
Property Services abandoned...
Nothing left, but we shall have
Back to top
- RESERVES !!!!!!
- UNEMPLOYMENT
- NO SERVICES FOR ORDINARY PEOPLE TO ENJOY AT A COST THEY CAN AFFORD
- VULNERABLE PEOPLE AT RISK, DUE TO DAY SERVICE CLOSURES IN MENTAL HEALTH
- PRIVATE SECTOR WILL SUFFER DUE TO LACK OF MONEY IN THE ECONOMY
- SELL OFF OF THE ELDERLY PERSONS HOME, TO BANKERS-DEVELOPERS- ETC
- TOTAL LOSS OF TRUST IN NOTTINGHAMSHIRE C.C.
This is Public Services SUICIDE...
Brought about by SHAM consultation after SHAM consultation.............
Did you watch Undercover Boss on Channel 4?
Quote from the Independent -"it was essential viewing for anyone who's ever grumbled about their council tax – or doubted that an attack on public services might be anything less than catastrophic."
Check out one clip here
If you want towatch the entire 30 minute programme click here - it really is worth watching. You'll never need a better reason for fighting Government (and Council) Cuts.
Elderly Persons Homes - the Sell Off
Yesterday (Thursday 29th April) Notts County Council organised a seminar at Nottingham Racecourse for prospective buyers of the remaining 13 Council run Elderly Persons Homes. The location had been kept under wraps and it was only a few hours beforehand that UNISON found out the location and we decided to leaflet the prospective buyers as they entered the building basically warning them that UNISON was very well organised in the Homes and we would campaign for them to remain within the public sector as would the local family and residents groups. (The leaflet can be seen here).
It came to light from talking to those attending that the information pack provided by the Council informs the 'potential buyers' that the Homes only need to remain as such for 3 years! What sort of message is that sending out to land developers who will know full well that the Homes have substantial land included and that many of the sites are next to prime property areas.
It doesn't take a genius to work out what will happen does it? At best the quality and standards will drop and at worst the Homes will be sold for property development. We're obviously not the only people thinking along these lines as we came across an article whilst looking at another website and thought it was so moving that it was worth placing a link to it here. It's made even more appropriate with the General Election next week and as the person in the blog mentions that what has happened here in Notts over the last year is basically a microcosm for what is more than likely to happen under a Conservative government.
Please take the time to read the various articles below relating to the budget cuts and what we are doing to campaign to save these services and members terms and conditions.
- Personalisation “Cash for Care” campaign - Invitation to tell UNISON your care story read more here
We have today sent out a media invitation to members of the public asking them to tell us their care story for our personalisation campaign in Homecare. We would also like to hear from our members and friends and family of members who receive care or are a carer. Please read the invitation set out on our cash for care web page which also tells you how to reply. http://www.unison.org.uk/localgov/cashforcare.asp We look forward to hearing from you and your family and friends. Best wishes
- UNISON’ and UNITE Trade Unions Official Response to the Budget Proposals to reduce the Welfare Rights capacity and staffing by 50% read more here
- Trade Union “UNISON” response to Budget Cuts to Frontline Services. read more here
- U- Turns and Deception, Budget Cuts - Selling Off of all the EPH’s. read more
Below are some links to SDS, (Self Directed Support/ Personalisation)
Web: unison.org.uk/localgov/socialcare.asp
http://www.unison.org.uk/localgov/personalisation.asp
Get involved! Take part in the Social Care Survey, go to the national website and download the survey http://www.unison.org.uk/localgov/
UNISON Newsletter - Up Close and Personal http://www.unison.org.uk/localgov/
There is a National UNISON Social Care Newsletter which is available via this link http://www.unison.org.uk/localgov/socialcare.asp
If you want regular email updates from National UNISON re Social Care you can register here
Department of Health: Social Care Bulletin - April 2009 click here
ASC&H JCNP- minutes from the most recent JCNP (this is the joint County Council/unions negotiating forum) click here