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26
Jan
Council exploring sites in Harrogate for £60 million dementia care hubs
North Yorkshire Council is set to assess the suitability of sites across Harrogate as part of a £60 million scheme to create new care and support hubs.
The new hubs would provide residential care for 250 older people with complex care needs due to dementia.
The hubs, which would be owned by the council, would be built at locations around the county to meet demand, with the first opened in the Harrogate and Scarborough areas.
The new facilities would eventually replace the authority’s seven elderly people’s homes, which officers say all need significant investment to continue operating safely.
The Stray Ferret understands that the council is currently exploring sites in the Harrogate area and a public consultation will be undertaken before a planning application is submitted.
According to the council, £60 million is being invested into five hubs across the county. Senior councillors are expected to consider the next stage of the scheme in the summer.
Richard Webb, corporate director for health and adult services (HAS), previously described the plans in a report to councillors as “an ambitious re-design of the council’s care provision”.
Mr Webb said the new hubs could be built within five years, with the savings they delivered potentially covering the cost of the expenditure within four years of their opening.
He added:
It is an invest to save proposal estimated to reduce future costs of up to £14.8m per annum in the HAS budget, once the full programme has been implemented and depending on prevailing market conditions.
The hubs would offer specialist residential dementia care in purpose-built settings, which would meet the needs of people with advanced dementia and other specialist needs.
Council officers say the hubs would significantly reduce the requirement for one-to-one support and reduce the reliance on expensive specialist provision in the independent care market.
They would also provide care for people released from hospital and in need of bed-based help, with specialist reablement and rehabilitation support available.
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