Care home makeover completed
A CARE home has been brought back to life with a £5m transformation that’s created 100 jobs in the Bridgend area.
The new facilities for people with dementia at the 60-bedroom Anwen Care Home in Pantyrawel were officially opened by Ogmore AM Huw IrrancaDavies, the Minister for Children and Social Care.
The former Blackmill care home, which was closed in 2012, was acquired by Care Inn which manages 13 care homes across South Wales.
It has spent four years fully upgrading the building and the first phase opened in 2014.
The latest and final phase has seen the completion of a new groundfloor facility, featuring 11 bedrooms and communal garden area.
Some of the new rooms boast their own private garden areas with stunning views of the surrounding hills and valleys while a new, nostalgically-designed cinema room has been created to take residents on a trip back in time.
There’s also a new café, hairdresser and beach area complete with a Japanese pagoda.
The home, which in- corporates the very latest innovative approaches to dementia care, was officially opened by Mr Irranca-Davies during a celebration event attended by residents, staff and their families.
He said: “It’s great that more people are now able to benefit from this per- sonalised and specialist care as well as the lovely facilities and surroundings at the home.
“The dedication, warmth, care, enthusiasm and professionalism of the staff who work there make a really positive difference to the quality of people’s lives, which makes it such a special place.”
Care Inn director Sanjiv Joshi said: “The completion of our ground floor unit is a significant milestone in our fouryear journey to transform this redundant site into a modern, pioneering facility for the delivery of exceptional dementia care.
“All of our staff and carers are delighted with our new facilities and are boosted by the minister’s words of support.
“The minister and our MP Chris Elmore, have been very positive about the care we provide – not just the physical environment but also what our teams have been able to achieve for dementia residents. We’re thrilled the efforts and commitment we’ve put into this home has been recognised and is appreciated by all.”
Work on the ground floor unit has included the construction of a new road providing ambulances direct access to this floor.
The building work, which was completed by Care Inn’s Property team, concludes a four-year refurbishment project however there are plans to expand the accommodation in future.