Big cash boost for care home

Councillors met on Monday at the Adult Social and Health Committee meeting to approve the £600,000 improvement scheme,

The cash will be equally allocated among six care homes in the county, including St Michael’s View Care Home in Retford.

Committee chairman Coun Kevin Rostance said he was delighted the refurbishment plans had been given the go-ahead.

“Many of these homes were built in the 1980s and have not undergone any major refurbishment since this time,” he said.

“The programme will cover any repairs needed and will help improve the internal and external appearance of the buildings, making them a more attractive place for their residents to live in.”

He added: “We are aiming to increase their use for short-term residents and offering more services for the community so this project will also help make this happen.”

Coun Alan Rhodes, leader of the Labour opposition at Notts County Council, said he has mixed views about the approval of the care home refurbishment programme.

“Whilst I welcome the refurbishment of James Hince Court, St Michael’s View in Retford and the four other residential care homes that remain in Notts County Councils ownership, we should not forget that if the Tories could have found a buyer for them, these homes would have been sold at a knock down price like the Westwood care home in Worksop was,” he said.

“Instead, because they failed to sell these homes, the County Council will thankfully be forced to continue to be a provider of care for the elderly, something that I and my Labour colleagues always supported.”

He added: “We will expect the highest quality of refurbishments to be carried out to ensure that the highest quality of care can continue to be delivered by the County Council to the frail and elderly residents of all of these premises’.

The improvements include maintenance and decoration works to improve the environment for residents and their visitors and also updating IT cabling.

The work will start as soon as the building contractors are identified.

The refurbishment works are being funded from the £34m the Council saved on its projected spending last year (2011/12).

The County Council says James Hince Court, St Michael’s View and Woods Court Care Homes now have independent living beds for people who need more care after leaving hospital to help them return to the community.

Specialist units to support older people with moderate dementia and mental health needs are also being proposed for James Hince Court and Leivers Court, Arnold.

The council agreed to continue to operate the six care homes last September to provide long term care, short term care and also respite care to support carers.

It is also planning to offer a wider range of short-term services that promote independence along with more support services for the wider community at the centres and within local people’s homes.