A £5 million unit which will include specialist support for people who have suffered a stroke opens in Liverpool on Wednesday 10 July.
The 35-bed Townsend Hub in Tuebrook boasts 40 per cent more capacity than the previous Venmore facility – including six larger rooms with hoists for patients with mobility issues. It will support people to get back on their feet again following a hospital stay, before they return home.
All the bedrooms have en-suite facilities and there are also areas for therapy and socialising, dining facilities, gardens and a hairdressing salon.
The previous stroke facility on Hartnup Street is being transformed into one of three dementia hubs across the city, as part of a £30 million investment in social care, and is set open in November 2019.
Work is also under way on a new £8 million facility on South Parade in Speke which opens in September 2019, while a third site is also planned for the north of the city.
The 60-bed facilities will provide state-of-the art accommodation and care for people living with dementia – as well as those with other long-term residential and nursing care needs.
The services at the dementia hubs will be managed by health and social care provider, Shaw healthcare, in a contract signed with the city council for 25 years.
They will help reduce the number of people unnecessarily delayed in hospital following NHS treatment by getting and improve their experience of health and social care services by driving up quality standards.
Liverpool City Council’s Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Health, Cllr Paul Brant, said: “We have a growing older population and that means more demand for our services, which is why we are investing in creating additional capacity.
“They will help reduce the number of people unnecessarily delayed in hospital following NHS treatment by getting and improve their experience of health and social care services by driving up quality standards.”
Jan Ledward, Chief Officer for NHS Liverpool Clinical Commissioning Group added: “The Townsend hub is a fantastic joint investment which supports closer partnership working between health and social care services in Liverpool, and faster hospital discharge for patients who no longer need to be in hospital, freeing up beds more quickly for those who do.”
There 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.
At the same time, building work has now completed at Besford House in Belle Vale. The hub, which provides accommodation for adults with learning disabilities, has undergone an £900,000 makeover. Improvements include decorating, new carpets and flooring, new bathroom suites, kitchens and furniture.
The city council already spends almost £50 million a year on residential and nursing care, plus a further £11 million on dementia and memory loss services. It has shielded social care as much as it can from the cuts in its funding from central Government since 2010, despite a £444 million reduction in the council’s budget from 2010 – 2020.
Mayor of Liverpool Joe Anderson said: “The opening of Townsend hub marks the first milestone in a significant investment in transforming social care in Liverpool.
“These new buildings will provide our service-users with the modern facilities they deserve. The facilities we are creating will help ease pressure on other areas of the NHS which are under constant strain such as hospitals where beds are far more costly.
“Importantly, they will save the public purse money by ensuring that people aren’t tying up more expensive hospital beds.”
