The Welsh Assembly Government’s Deputy Minister for Social Services, Gwenda Thomas AM, has officially opened the new Ceredigion Independent Living Centre at Felinfach near Aberaeron. The ceremony took place on 20 May 2010. The new centre provides a “one stop shop” resource for Ceredigion people with disability or sensory impairment.
Situated directly off the A482, between Aberaeron and Lampeter, within the AeronValleyEnterprisePark, the new Ceredigion Independent Living Centre is centrally located within the county and offers good accessibility for cars, larger vehicles and regular bus services passing the site. The total capital cost of the new centre was £890,000 with the Welsh Assembly Government having contributed £488,000 and the Hywel Dda Health Board having contributed £40,200 as well as capital equipment. The Welsh Assembly Government also contributed £70,00 from its Performance Management and Development Fund (PMDF) which assists the strategic drive to have consistent and reliable information in place and shared by local and national government and the UK Government’s Department for Health and Social Services.
The new Ceredigion Independent Living Centre provides a “state of the art” demonstration, training, and self-assessment facility with clinicians on site. Enhanced storage capacity incorporates decontamination facilities and the provision of stock control management information systems to aid the tracking and servicing of equipment and sharing of that data with other partners. The new centre also provides a full range of services ranging from advice to service users needing to consult experts but wishing to self-fund, to training facilities for carers and assessment facilities for people with chronic and long term conditions. Ceredigion’s Sight Centre and Manual Handling Training Unit have also now been relocated into the new Ceredigion Independent Living Centre.
In declaring the new Ceredigion Independent Living Centre officially open, the Welsh Assembly Government’s Deputy Minister for Social Services, Gwenda Thomas AM, said: “The Ceredigion Independent Living Centre will become a hub for the community. It will provide real opportunities for older and disabled adults and children to live and maintain their independence in the home of their choosing. The high level of commitment and shared belief from both Hywel Dda Health Board and Ceredigion County Council has been instrumental in delivering an excellent centre.
“Supported by a capital fund of £12.5 million this centre is one of many that the Welsh Assembly Government are planning in partnership with Local Health Boards and Local Authorities across Wales to ensure the dignity, safety and wellbeing of the vulnerable.”
The Leader of Ceredigion County Council, Councillor EJ Keith Evans, commented: “Ceredigion County Council is indebted to the Welsh Assembly Government and to our partnership with the Hywel Dda Health Board for the magnificent assistance and support they have provided to enable bring into being the establishment of Ceredigion’s new Independent Living Centre which could well serve as an exemplar project for very many other local authorities within Wales. It was in 2006 that the County Council first began discussing the development of an Integrated Community Equipment Service (ICES) with the Hywel Dda Health. Thanks to an ICES capital grant allocation from the Welsh Assembly Government we were able to purchase a suitable building and proceed to establish the new Ceredigion Independent Living Centre here at Felinfach.”
Ceredigion County Council’s Cabinet Member with responsibility for Social Services, Councillor RG Harris, added: “The new Ceredigion Independent Living Centre will provide much needed new resources to our community. It will be essential in helping us to manage anticipated increasing demands in future years, with over half of Ceredigion’s population projected to be aged 50 or over by 2016. Our aim is to enable people, particularly older people, to have easier access to a full range of information and practical resources to empower them to maintain their independence; to support carers and to avoid unnecessary dependence on health and social care services.”
Helen Williams, the Hywel Dda Health Board’s Head of Nursing for Ceredigion, said: “This is an exciting example of partnership working in Ceredigion. It has taken a number of years to develop and will ensure residents of Ceredigion have access to a range of specialist equipment to meet their needs. I would like to pay tribute to the project team who have worked hard to make this happen.”
The construction work was managed by Ceredigion County Council’s Department of Highways, Property and Works. The main contractor for the project was TO Jones & Sons Ltd., Gerlyn, Llanybydder.
