Ealing Council's contract for a £24million PFI programme to build new residential care and nursing homes for older people was signed by Cllr Martin Beecroft, cabinet member for independent living, on 23rd March.

 

It means work can now start on the building of three new �resource centres' and a nursing home.   These will have state of the art residential and nursing accommodation and also provide short break and rehabilitation care.

 

Chestnut Lodge

 

There will be day care services for older people with a dementia provided jointly by Ealing Council and West London Mental Health Trust, an Early Diagnosis Unit for older people provided by Ealing Primary Care Trust and office accommodation for a range of professionals working with older people living in their own homes.  

 

The four facilities will replace the council's three remaining care homes for older people.    There will be 291 places for residential and nursing care replacing the 172 residential places provided by the council.

 

They will be built by a consortium comprising Servite Houses, Galliford Try and Barclays Private Equity.  

 

The first centre will be built on the empty Elm Lodge site in Greenford.   Work is due to start in April 2005 with a scheduled opening of the new resource centre in the summer of 2006.  

 

Next, Martin House in Southall and Sycamore Lodge in Acton, will be rebuilt.   The final building will be the nursing home on the Chestnut Lodge site in central Ealing, which should be completed by 2009.

 

The new residential accommodation will have:

•  En-suite toilet, hand basin and shower in every room.   At the moment rooms only have washbasins � all other facilities are shared;

•  A programme of activities for residents;

•  Specialist care for Asian older people at Martin House in Southall.

It is also expected that Alzheimers Concern will operate their services from the new centres.  

 

Cllr Martin Beecroft said: �Signing this contract is the first step in creating nearly 120 additional residential places for our older residents in the borough.   With our partners, we can now get on with the job of building top quality new homes, which will provide first class facilities for excellent value for money.�  

•  Elm Lodge (To be completed by 2006)

             45 residential care beds

             30 nursing care beds

             Integrated Day Care for 45 people with dementing illnesses

             Office accommodation for ECMHT

 

•  Martin House (To be completed by 2008) 

            30 residential care beds

            45 nursing care beds

            Day care (Ealing Council)

            Early Diagnosis Unit

            Office accommodation (Ealing Council)

 

•  Sycamore Lodge (To be completed by 2008)

            30 residential care beds (including 15 respite care beds)

            47 Nursing care beds

            Integrated Day Care for 45 people with dementia illnesses

            Office accommodation for ECMHT

            Office accommodation for Ealing Council

•  Chestnut Lodge (To be completed by 2009)

               64 Nursing care places

 

Conservative Finance Spokesman, Cllr Barbara Yerolemou said:

 

�I am very pleased that these much needed facilities are coming to fruition. Our population of older people will continue rise, and we need modern facilities to look after them. By 2009, we will have four new centres spread across the borough, which will be able to look after older people with dignity.

 

�My only disappointment is that with the change of administration in 1994 the plans were delayed for five years until the Labour party understood the merits of using PFI to provide state of the art facilities.�