In December 2023 BCP Council launched a public consultation on its Day Opportunities Strategy. Originally meant simply to be the consultation phase in the development of a strategy that has been co-produced with service users across the conurbation over more than a year, the Council's new administration tagged a stark set of proposals onto the end of the the consultation document. These relate to the possible closure of between five and all eight of the day centres currently operated by Tricuro, the Council-owned social care provider, across Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole.

One of the services slated for closure is the Moordown Plus day centre on Wimborne Road. The centre currently provides what service users and staff describe as "gold standard" day care services for older people living with dementia. The building was refurbished in 2018 by the former Bournemouth Borough Council at a cost of around £1million. It is a superb, modern facility in excellent condition, which has been specifically designed to a high standard to cater for the needs of people living with dementia. Moordown Plus is a well-used community facility providing much-needed support to vulnerable local residents and their carers.

By comparison, three of the other Plus day centres included in the consultation (Highcliffe, Wallisdown and Westbourne) closed during the pandemic and have never reopened. The fifth and final Plus centre on Commercial Road in Poole is housed in a run-down building that is not fit for purpose and cannot be refurbished to adequately meet the needs of a modern day care service. Furthermore, the Poole Plus centre is located close to the larger and much more viable Parkstone Connect centre, which offers the opportunity for service users to be relocated with relative ease. If the Moordown Plus centre were to close, the nearest Connect centre for relocated service users would be in Boscombe.

Kate Salmon, Green Party ward councillor for Moordown, says: "I am very concerned at the proposal to close the Moordown Plus day centre. While i absolutely understand the severe financial challenge currently facing BCP Council, we must not allow important and high quality community services to disappear without extremely careful consideration. There is a strong case for retaining the Moordown Plus centre, given its excellent condition and high standard of service provision. I believe other options should be considered much more fully ahead of closure - for example, opening the use of the centre to other community groups and day services to make best use of the building as a community asset."

The public consultation on the proposal to close the Tricuro day centres ended on 12 January. A report is now being prepared for consideration by the Cabinet of BCP Council in spring 2024. Now is the time to add our voices to this process and make sure that Council decision makers know that we don't want to lose the Moordown Plus day centre!