£21m care home partnership set for go-ahead

Liverpool City Council is on the cusp of agreeing a £21m partnership with Shaw Healthcare to build three new residential care homes.The proposed investment, which is due to be considered by the cabinet on Friday, 1 September 2017, is part of a commitment by the council to meet the rising demand for dementia care services as well as increased need for quality respite facilities for carers by 2020.The local authority plans to borrow the money to build the centres, with the repayments covered by income from the leases on each site.It is envisaged that the three, 50-bed flexible facilities would open by the end of 2019, providing accommodation and care for those living with dementia, as well as those with other long-term residential and nursing care needs in the north, central and southern parts of the city.They would 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.The first new centre would be at the Venmore Rehabilitation Hub in Anfield, with the existing stroke services relocated to a new site in Townsend Lane. A second would be on disused playing fields at the former Parklands High School close to Speke district centre, while the council is currently considering a number of sites for a third centre in the north of the city.