Care of older people in Cumbria receives a boost on Friday (20 April) when work begins on a new £4 million extra-care housing scheme in Kendal.
Extra-care combines all the advantages of sheltered housing with the round-the-clock care provided in residential homes. Older people have their own front-door and the reassurance provided by an on-site care and support team.
When it is completed in March 2008, the new Rydal Road scheme will bring the number of extra-care housing facilities in Cumbria to eight.
The scheme is being delivered through a partnership between Impact Housing, South Lakeland District Council, Cumbria Primary Care Trust and Cumbria County Council.
The county council is providing 24-hour social care staffing for the facility, funding for a manager and community alarms for each of the 37 flats and bungalows which will make up the development.
The county council is currently conducting a wide-ranging review on how older people in Cumbria can be helped to maintain their independence for longer. Last year, councillors commissioned a series of local working groups to look at how support for older people can be provided in future years.
More attention is expected to be focused on extra-care housing schemes, supporting people in their own homes and modern residential facilities.
The working groups are expected to report back before the end of the year with suggestions on how more choice and independence can be provided for older people.
Cumbria County Council's Director for Adult Social Care & Health, Jill Stannard said: "Extra-care housing combines all the advantages of staying at home with going into residential care, while removing the disadvantages of both.
"We are very pleased to be able to support this new development which will play a major role in providing older people in south Cumbria with more choice and independence.
"The county council's care team will be providing round-the-clock personal care and support for individual tenants."
ENDS
Media enquiries to Mark Graham, Media Officer on 01228-606337
Notes
1. For more information on the new Kendal extra-care housing team, contact Impact Housing on 01900-842137
2. Long term Office of National Statistics (ONS) population projections show that the fastest growing age group in the county over the next 25-years will be people aged 60-74 who are set to make up 22 per cent of the population in 2029, compared to just 16 per cent in 2004 .
The figures also show that the proportion of Cumbrians aged 75 years and older is predicted to rise from 9 per cent in 2004 to 15 per cent in 2029.