From 1st July 2017 Hunters Hill Ryde Community Services and Lane Cove and North Side Community Services merged to become a new organisation. Both organisations have been serving their local communities for over 50 years. Whilst much of the support has been offered to older people we have both also been supporting people with a disability.
Lane Cove services will continue to run out of 1 Pottery Lane, Lane Cove and Hunters Hill, Ryde services will continue to operate from Gladesville Road, Hunters Hill.
Initially very little will change for our clients and patients. Nurses will call, meals will be delivered, beds will be made and shopping arranged. Most of the initial impact of the merger concerns the back office functions making the new organisation efficient and cost effective from the start and maximising the opportunities that working on a larger scale offers.
Volunteers will continue to be the lifeblood of our services. We could not deliver the support and care to our clients without the time and energy our volunteers give so freely. We know that for many people volunteering in their own neighbourhood is important and we will not be expecting any volunteer to change their preferred area or service. Sydney Community Services inherits over 400 volunteers. This is what makes us unique. We can offer local services for local residents delivered by local people. Keeping that mantra at the heart of our organisation is vital in maintaining the high quality and attentive services Lane Cove, Hunters Hill and Ryde residents deserve.
Organisations that have been around more than 50 years are going to have developed in a way that has responded to those requesting their services. Our two organisations have grown up to look a little different but at the heart of both is the development of services to meet the needs of the residents. Some of our services like Meals On Wheels and community visiting programmes are similar and are funded a similar way. However there are new and different programs at each location and it gives us a marvellous opportunity to expand our services and help even more people. For example our Community Home Nursing Service currently operates in the Lane Cove area only, but over the past few months we have been discussing our service with Hunters Hill GPs and local hospitals and have started to offer the unique and wonderful care of our Community Nurses to the wider Hunters Hill community.
The Hunters Hill Day Centre offers respite care for people with dementia. This is a very valuable opportunity to give their carers a day to attend to those things that full time caring can make almost impossible. This service will now be offered to people living in Lane Cove.
It is early days for Sydney Community Services but we are confident that we are building the foundations for sustainable, responsive and quality care for the residents of Lane Cove, Hunters Hill and Ryde for the next 50 years.
