Wolverhampton City Council is working with partners including Wolverhampton Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) to develop the hub in the Warstones Drive building offering a range of health, social care and community support options.
People are being encouraged to have their say about the plans and a 3 month period of engagement is now underway during which people can find out more.
People can get involved either online via Type=articles;Articleid=1848;Title=Current consultations; or by taking part in either of the meetings scheduled below which are being staged over the coming weeks.
These include the public meeting at the former Warstones Resource Centre, Warstones Drive in Penn on Tuesday 22 October, 2013, from 2pm to 4pm.
Key stakeholders will also be invited to discuss the proposals at a meeting on 28 October, from 2.45pm to 4.30pm in Committee Room 3 at the Civic Centre.
Places are limited and people who wish to take part are being urged to contact Rose Powell on 01902 555494 or e mail rose.powell@wolverhampton.gov.uk to reserve their place.
The community service hub, one of 3 such community service hubs planned across the city, would offer a range of health and social care support, including helping people to maintain and regain their independence.
Wolverhampton CCG is exploring the feasibility of establishing an intermediate care unit at Warstones which would provide support options, such as physiotherapy, speech therapy and falls prevention, designed to bridge the gap between hospital and home.
These would help people who have been in hospital to recover their independence before returning home - and also prevent people whose health has deteriorated from needing to go into hospital in the first place.
Other help and support would be provided at the hub to enable people to live healthy lives, while it would also be the new home to Warstones Library and offer drop in opportunities such as Tai Chi, art classes and bingo. Third Sector organisations such as Age UK, Dementia Pathfinders and the Over 50s forum, would also have a base there.
Councillor Elias Mattu, Wolverhampton City Council's Cabinet Member for Leisure and Communities, said: "The community service hubs are a little bit different from the community hubs we're already developing in Wolverhampton in that, as well as library, community and youth services, they'll also offer a range of health and social care support.
"By bringing these vital services together under one roof, we hope to protect them in the face of unprecedented Government funding cuts - and also make it easier for people to access a wide range of help and support from the same location.
"Although the development of the Warstones hub is at a very early stage, we're keen to hear people's thoughts about the proposals and I'd urge them to have their say."
Dr Helen Hibbs, Chief Officer of Wolverhampton CCG, said: "We are committed to working in partnership with Wolverhampton City Council for the benefit of the people of Wolverhampton.
"Patient care is paramount. We aim to reduce hospital admissions, where this is appropriate, by providing other ways to support people. In doing so, we improve our patients' quality of life by giving them the confidence to manage in their own homes.
"We welcome the engagement on the development of the Warstones hub and hope that as many people as possible will take this opportunity to have their say."
To find out more about the proposals please log on to Type=articles;Articleid=1848;Title=Current consultations;. Alternatively, please contact Commissioning Officer Helen Rowney on 01902 555495 or via helen.rowney@wolverhampton.gov.uk, or Participation Officer Rose Powell on 01902 555494 or via rose.powell@wolverhampton.gov.uk.
- released: Wednesday 9 October, 2013