People in Cumbria will get the chance to have their say on plans to invest millions of pounds in new residential homes for older people next week.
Cumbria County Council is beginning a three month public consultation from Monday (28 January) on plans published last October to build six ,state-of-the-art homes on the sites of new and existing community hospitals.
The new homes would be built over the next five years and would replace existing homes in Wigton, Keswick, Millom, Alston, Penrith and Brampton.
Bedrooms in existing council-run homes are too small with people often having to share bathrooms because of a lack of en-suite facilities.
Older people's charity Age Concern has helped the council come up the plans which would see each new home form the centrepiece of a 'health village', offering respite support, GP and other community services, all in the same place.
Council staff would move with residents to the new homes which would offer residential and nursing care in the same place. Currently, residents in Cumbrian council-run homes have to move out when their care needs rise above a certain level.
The plans have been developed with the help of Cumbria's health bosses and would be funded from a successful bid to the Government’s Community Venture’s scheme.
Each new home would have:
* More bedrooms to help meet the care needs of the county's ageing population;
* Residential and nursing care in the same building;
* More space to provide respite care for older people;
* Larger rooms with en-suite bathrooms that respect people’s dignity and independence;
* Bedrooms for couples, to prevent them having to live apart when they go into residential care;
* Accessible and well designed gardens.
Councillor Tim Stoddard, Leader of Cumbria County Council, said: "These proposals herald a unique opportunity to improve the quality of council-run residential care homes for older people in Cumbria.
"I hope as many people as possible will grasp that opportunity and let us have their views on these exciting plans to provide more dignity and independence for older people who can no longer live at home."
Jill Stannard, Cumbria County Council’s Director of Adult Social Care and Health, said: "These new homes would offer a number of important advantages over those we currently use, with bigger rooms, extra privacy for residents and the opportunity for more couples who need care to go on living together.
"Having residential and nursing care on the same site would also reduce the need to move to different homes as their care needs change."
Joanna Leith, Director of Carlisle and District Age Concern, said: "Age Concern organisations in Cumbria have welcomed the opportunity of being involved in the review of key residential services supporting older people in the county.
"Now these plans are going out for consultation, it is essential that the views of older people are at the centre of the decision-making process and are clearly reflected in the final proposals."
People will get the chance to have their say on the plans at a series of drop-in sessions and public meetings which take place before 28 April when the consultation ends.
The council is using specialist advisors from the 'Shaping Our Lives' organisation to canvass the views of residents in the six affected homes. Independent advocates are being employed by the council to help residents who want help to express their views.
The full consultation document will be available next week in libraries and online at: http://www.cumbria.gov.uk/adultsocialcare/carehomesconsultation
After listening to local people’s views, detailed plans will be developed for consideration by county councillors later in the year.
ENDS
Media enquiries to Mark Graham, Media Officer on 01228-606337
Notes
Many of the photographs in the document illustrate the type of modern care facilities that the council would like to build in Cumbria. Hi-res versions of these pictures are available on request.
In addition to the proposals out for consultation from next week, cabinet members also agreed last year to proceed with more evaluation work on longer term proposals to provide improved residential care homes in Barrow and South Lakeland.
When this evaluation work has been completed, the county council will carry out a further consultation, giving everyone an opportunity to make their views known. The council predicts any proposals would take 5-10 years to deliver.
Homes in the county not included in the ten-year package of improvements will continue to receive year-on-year investment.