Older people in Barrow are several important steps nearer to having a new generation of care facilities in the town as a part of a multi-million pound Cumbria County Council improvement programme.
Barrow is to receive a new ?7.2m, 60-bed residential care home which will provide modern solutions for the care home resident of today, particularly those with dementia. Added to this is extra investment in a wider range of choices for older people, including receiving more help to live independently in their own homes.
Barrow county councillors and Cllr James Airey, Cabinet member for adult social care, have now decided that the new multi-million care home should be built on the site of the council-owned George Basterfield House care home on Risedale Road, one of four homes being replaced by the new build.
Previously two other sites were being considered for the new care home ? Park View on Lesh Lane and Abbey Meadows on Flass Lane. Councillors decided that both of these sites exposed the new build care home project to risks of unacceptable delays due to uncertainties around whether they would be granted planning permission. As the site at George Basterfield House is already owned by the county council and houses an existing care home, and as the development being planned would enhance and improve the surrounding area, it is far less likely to be stalled by land negotiations or planning issues.
The decision does not affect residents in the council-run homes being replaced by the new state-of-the-art care home. West Point House on Walney Island closed in March 2011 (two weeks ahead of schedule), with all residents successfully and happily relocated to suitable alternative accommodation. George Basterfield House is still scheduled for closure in December 2011 and plans for relocating residents are already well underway. If the necessary planning approvals are achieved, construction work for the new care home on Risedale Road would then begin in late spring 2012, allowing the new home to open in the summer of 2013.
Rock Lea and Bevan House care homes would then close once the new home is open so that residents can be transferred from their existing outdated accommodation into the new modern facility. The buildings and layouts of the Cumbria Care homes planned for closure are all no longer fit for purpose to provide for the needs of older people now entering residential care. Small room sizes, a lack of en-suite bathroom facilities and the growing dependency of older people needing specialist equipment makes it difficult for Cumbria Care?s dedicated staff to provide the standard of care they?d like to.
The new ?5m extra care housing facility built by Accent Housing Association on Holker Street is now fully operational and has become an important part of the new care offer for Barrow, providing a genuine high-quality alternative to traditional residential care. Residents moving out of the county council?s old care homes into Holker Street have been delighted by the transfers and the modern facilities they now have.
As outlined during the previous consultation on the home closures, revenue savings achieved by closing Westpoint House are being reinvested into the community to support people to stay in their own homes. This includes the implementation of more sensors and alarms into people?s homes and the establishment of a responder service to respond rapidly to any needs 24 hours 7 days a week. A high level home care service developed by the council in partnership with the health service is now available across Barrow providing 24 hour 7 day a week coverage. There have been extremely high levels of satisfaction with the service from users.
The package of measures is the biggest milestone ever in the way older people are cared for in Barrow and will provide a wider range of choice.
Cllr James Airey, Cumbria County Council?s Cabinet member for adult social care, said:
?We are very pleased with how the modernisation of social care in Barrow is moving. Much has been achieved, particularly in building services to support people to stay in their own homes. The extra care housing facility on Holker Street is an excellent development and delivers a standard of accommodation our older people rightly deserve, combining independent living in their own apartments with an on-site care team and communal activities to support community living.
?The new build care home is a promise made to the people of Barrow and is a key part of delivering modern services. Our aim has been to have the new home open in 2013 and to meet this timescale we need to start the process of seeking planning approvals and tendering for the construction. It has become increasingly clear that the two sites previously identified as preferred sites have difficulties associated with them which would introduce unacceptable delays in delivering the new home. Therefore Barrow?s county councillors have unanimously agreed that it is time to change the site option to George Basterfield House to allow the project to move forward to meet the planned timescales.
?The selection of the site does not in anyway affect the timescale for closing the existing home and relocating residents. The site is in a perfect location, being a large site in the community with plenty of nearby daily activity which so often gives real pleasure to residents.?
Source: http://www.cumbriacrack.com/2011/05/23/new-strides-forward-in-barrow-care-modernisation/
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