The Care Hub Millbrook is the new name for Point Europa, a long-established charity on the Rame Peninsula. From our foundation in 2004, we have provided community activity and support for residents in the area, covering a very wide range of services and activities. A key part of this for many years has been support for older people. Point Europa carried out European Projects through European funding. Further to Brexit and the cease of operation in the European Sector, community consultation took place in order to identify in which direction the charity would move. 

In July 2022, the Trustees reviewed the charity’s work and through community consultation decided to focus our future activities entirely on adult social care in our community: aiming to build support for carers, and those they care for.  With the support of our community, we have recently launched The Care Hub Millbrook. We have repurposed our existing building to become an information/support point for carers and families - essentially a single-focus community centre in the heart of Millbrook village, serving the whole of the Rame Peninsula. The charity owns the mortgage free building in which it resides and has a successful well established charity shop on the ground floor. Please note the relatively high figures in our last accounts are historical, reflecting the charity`s previous high value EU projects. After all final costs were paid, The Care Hub was left with a modest legacy of £60K to start the new work. 

Millbrook has been ranked by the LOSA 11,299 out of 32,844 LSOA`s in England. This is amongst the 40% most deprived neighbourhoods in the country. According to the ONS census 2001, the highest proportion of the population of adults in the Rame Peninsula are aged over 75. The proportion of the population in SE Cornwall are over the age of 65, which is higher that the England average (18.5% / 27%). With an aging population, the pressures on the already fragile care system will only increase. While living longer is considered a positive, the time spent living with a long-term illness or disability is increasing. The number of people with dementia is expected to rise by 49% over the next 15 years: although not a normal part of aging, it’s prevalence increases with age. Currently 11.9% of Cornwall’s residents (approx. 68,000 people) provide unpaid care to a family member, friend, or neighbour. The disproportionate impact in Cornwall of an increasing population, with a higher and higher average age, will only increase the need for care and further impact on local families and the wider local community Residents are living for longer and unfortunately there are not enough paid carers to support our elderly residents. More and more family members are caring for loved ones without physical and emotional support. We want to empower carers by providing them with support and resources to improve their quality of life and develop the skills necessary to become more confident in their caring role.

The Care Hub is working extremely hard on a major crisis affecting our community: adult social care. Through the Hub we are currently offering various activities aimed at supporting carers and older residents such as: free training for carers/family members, volunteer befriending service, access to advice and counselling, benefits and form filling, health and wellbeing, peer support groups, emotional support. We are aware that there is no other provider of the service we aim to offer locally and residents of Millbrook and the Rame Peninsula have poor connectivity to healthcare services. Through consultation with our local GP (12,000 registered) we are aware that many carer`s are visiting the surgery for their physical and mental health and we aim to reduce the number of visits through our vital work. 

Support for carers and those being cared for is critical in order to reduce the impact on the NHS and Adult Social Services. The Care Hub also are working on developing community solutions to the bed-blocking crisis that damages our NHS immensely. Immediate support through our staff and volunteers can offer the help that enables people back into their homes and out of hospital. We are in detailed discussions with GP Surgeries, The Integrated Care Board, our local NHS Hospital along with the Primary Care Network and have full support from these organisations.

Become a part of The Care Hub Millbrook and experience the benefits of a caring and understanding community. Together, we can make a difference in the lives of carers and those they care for.