DIFFICULTIES in accessing community transport means some people are missing out on services and activities.
Community transport, such as Dial-A-Ride which operates across Torfaen, provides door-to-door transport for people of all ages who have difficulty accessing regular public transport.
But Torfaen Borough Council’s housing and prevention manager Simon Rose said the council’s recently introduced Early Intervention and Prevention model has found some people aren’t always able to access assistance with transport, though he didn’t name any individual provider.
Mr Rose said the intervention and prevention model, which is run through a hub that sifts through referrals for support, is intended to direct people to the appropriate service, including help and assistance provided by community groups which are independent of the council.
‘Gaps in service’
As a result he said the council has been able to identify where there are “gaps in service”.
He told councillors: “There are some gaps in community transport with people struggling to get out to groups as community transport is not accessible for some groups such as those with mobility issues.”
The council is working with community groups and Mr Rose said it has an “open dialogue” with groups that wish to support its vision of support provided by local groups and volunteers, which ties in with its ongoing plan to overhaul services dubbed ‘The Deal’.
Help is also available from the council to help groups access funding and Mr Rose described “getting any funding as an art form”.
He said: “There are some very good bid writers and some very poor bid writers and I’d class myself as a poor one.”
Beth McPherson, the council’s head of communities, said community groups can “sometimes deliver more with less” than the council does but stressed: “Not with nothing, we would never ask that.”
Mr Rose said the council is aware of around 50 community groups offering support its hub can refer people to with the intention doing so will reduce longer-term and immediate demand on council services, ranging from children’s social care to support for the elderly, as well as supporting people with issues such as housing and mental health.
The service was set up in June last year and the officers told the adults and communities scrutiny committee that had involved establishing how it would operate, refining the data it collects and how that is used and it is also now analysing how effective it has been in meeting need and reducing demand.
Figures show 88 per cent of those supported through the hub haven’t presented for help again within six months but Mr Rose cautioned: “It is still early days and we’re only looking through a six-month lens at this point. I would love to come back in 12 and 24 months and it still remain at that level.
“As time goes on we will hopefully get some more robust data.”
Kelly Walls, the council’s prevention hub team leader, said staff working in the hub will typically have around 15 callers on their dashboard, which includes those they’ve arranged to call, but at its peak it had some 30 people waiting.
She said the service has a “trauma informed approach” and staff have “reflection time” and the opportunity to talk about difficult cases. Ms Walls said: “It can be quite traumatic.”
Mr Rose said some calls can take half an hour while others could occupy someone for the whole day.