The Alkrington Hub Consultation
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Following the closure of the ‘Moving On Service’ in Middleton, Healthwatch Rochdale were contacted by a number of service users who felt they had not been involved in the consultation process. Subsequently, Healthwatch Rochdale spoke with 42 service users about the effects of the closure and published a report which included ten recommendations to Rochdale Adult Care. Since the closure of the ‘Moving On Service’, the centre has been redeveloped by Rochdale Borough Council and has reopened as ‘The Alkrington Hub’ with available spaces for groups to use. Following recommendations made in the ‘Moving On’ report, Rochdale Borough Council asked Healthwatch Rochdale to work in partnership to identify what services Rochdale residents wanted to receive from the Hub. At present the Hub is not being utilised to its full potential. Healthwatch Rochdale carried out a short survey which ran from November 2022 to January 2023, reaching 104 people. They also spoke with 18 previous users of the ‘Moving On Service’.
The survey identified that the top three areas of service that people wanted to see within the Alkrington Hub were:
- Health Services (including mental health, weight management and rehabilitation services
- Leisure Services (including social services, fitness and befriending)
- Social Care Services (including advocacy services, rehabilitation and support for people with learning disabilities and autism)
They identified three main themes preventing people using the Hub:
- Lack of Transport/Travel to The Hub
- Lack of awareness of The Hub
- Lack of trust following closure of the previous service
Conversations with 18 users of the previous service identified what worked well with the previous service and what prevents people from using the new service.