A contentious decision looms over residential overnight respite care for adults with learning disabilities.
Members of Southampton City Council’s cabinet have been recommended to support plans to move to an in-house service across two sites.
The proposals come after the local authority carried out a consultation on two options with service users from late-October to mid-December.
There are currently three centres providing overnight respite care in the city.
Kentish Road in Shirley is a four-bed unit, with one emergency bed, directly run by the council, Weston Court in Weston is a three-bed unit managed by private provider Way Ahead Leisure Pursuits Ltd and Rose Road Association in Aldermoor, which is run by a charity.
The contracts with both Way Ahead Leisure Pursuits Ltd and Rose Road Association currently end on March 31.
The first option proposed in the consultation was for expanding Kentish Road to six beds and an emergency bed, and deliver the majority of overnight respite from a single council service across Kentish Road and Weston Court.
The second was for Kentish Road to expand to eight beds and an emergency bed, cease the service at Weston Court and deliver the provision from one site.
However, the majority of consultation respondents did not like either option.
A briefing report published ahead of an overview and scrutiny management committee meeting on Thursday, January 23, included details of a third option explored following consultation feedback.
This proposal was similar to option one but with an expanded Kentish Road managed by the council and Weston Court delivered by an external provider.
Councillors have been recommended to approve option one, which was supported by 33 per cent of consultation responses.
This proposal was preferred due to “both the financial and non-financial analysis”.
Detailing the reasons for this recommendation, the report said: “This is because it fully utilises the council’s assets, it maintains choice and accessibility for both sides of the city, it provides ample capacity to meet forecast increases in demand for respite, it providers greater consistency of provision by having a single provider operating both sites and it enables the flexibility to meet different types of need.”
Under this approach, 3,600 nights of respite provision would be available a year, which is an increase of 409 nights from the current capacity.
The report said the current provision across the three sites costs £1,492,115 a year, with a potential saving of £356,913 under option one.
The second option delivered more nights than the existing provision with a saving of £466,900.
This proposal was not recommended in the report as it delivered fewer beds and less capacity than option one, it was the least preferred by the consultation and had the greatest number of non-financial disadvantages.
If option one is backed by cabinet at a meeting on Tuesday, January 28, the council would look to extend the existing contracts with Way Ahead Leisure Pursuits Ltd and Rose Road Association for three months to accommodate a transition period.
The council said Rose Road could continue to be a supplier of overnight respite for adults with more complex needs and it would work closely with the charity, which also provides a respite for children and a range of other services.
Both options in the report reference an additional estimated 200 nights of respite a year that could be commissioned, mostly through joint funding with the integrated care board, for complex needs.
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