Liverpool council to open three dementia care homes in £21m deal with private firm
On September 1 the authority’s cabinet will be asked to approve the deal with Shaw Healthcare that will see the trio of homes Speke, Anfield and on a third site in North Liverpool. Tony McDonough reports
Liverpool City Council is to enter into a £21m partnership with a private firm to build three new residential care homes.
On September 1 the authority’s cabinet will be asked to approve the deal with Shaw Healthcare that will see the trio of homes for people with dementia in Speke, Anfield and on a third site in North Liverpool still to be decided.
The three, 50-bed flexible facilities will open by the end of 2019, providing accommodation and care for people living with dementia
They will also provide places for other long-term residential and nursing care needs in the north, central and southern parts of the city.
An ageing population across the UK is driving demand for residential and nursing dementia care homes and it is estimated that demand will exceed supply by 2020.
An estimated 1,300 people are currently in commissioned dementia placements, a figure than represents nearly 60% of all residential social care admissions for people aged over 65.
There are currently 94 care homes registered with Care Quality Commission, providing some 3,725 places in the city, which is the highest in the Liverpool city region and fourth highest in the North West.
The new homes will be flexible step-up, step-down facilities, meaning they can be used to support people with lower level needs who would otherwise end up in hospital, as well as providing intermediate care to help get people out of hospital quicker.
Mayor of Liverpool, Joe Anderson, said: “We have already invested heavily in creating new social care hubs across the city in recent years, but our increasing elderly population means that we are facing a significant challenge in ensuring that there is sufficient capacity within our social care system to meet the needs of people with dementia and other long-term care needs.
“This is against a backdrop of rising demand, significant cuts to our budget from central Government of £420m between 2010 and 2020 and increasing pressure on wider healthcare services.”