Care extension to ease beds pressure
HOME FOR ELDERLY TO BE EXPANDED INTO GREENBELT AFTER ‘SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES’ HIGHLIGHTED
SEVEN care homes or units have closed in Stockport in the last three years leaving a ‘tremendous shortage’ bed spaces for elderly people.
The lack of capacity is being particularly felt by dementia patients. The borough has an population that is older than the national average.
It has left many care homes operating close to or at capacity throughout the year, but especially in the winter months.
In a bid to help ease the problem the largest care home operator in Stockport, Borough Care, has been given planning permission to extend its Bruce Lodge facility, in Offerton, onto greenbelt land.
At a planning committee meeting it was argued that the shortage meant the necessary ‘special circumstances’ existed to go against the policy of not developing the greenbelt.
Councillor Andy Sorton said: “There’s a tremendous shortage of beds, certainly for dementia patients. When you talk about green belt vulnerable people are the most special circumstances we can actually have.”
According to a report Borough Care commissioned from NJL Consulting, the percentage of the population in Stockport over 65 is 19.4, compared to the national average of 17.7.
It is also predicted to increase at a faster rate - hitting 21 per cent by 2020.
And estimates say more than 4,000 people in the borough have been diagnosed with dementia with the borough also having a higher than average rate.
The report states: “This anticipated increase in diagnoses will contribute towards a growing pressure on the limited number of bed spaces currently available.
“Within this context of an increasingly ageing population and a rise in dementia cases, Stockport has also recently seen a reduction in care home bed capacity due to provider failure and partial or full closures of care homes.
“Since January 2015, seven care homes or units have closed resulting in a loss of 151 beds.”
Among the closures since 2015 are the Balmoral, Kensington and Sandringham units at Marple Dale, in Marple.
Belmont Care Home, in Cheadle, announced it has ceased to trade at its Schools Hill premises last year.
And when Clarendon House, in Bramhall, shut in August 2016 manager Sally Turner said the government was ‘letting everyone down with the level of funding provided for the elderly.’
At Bruce Lodge, on Turncroft Lane, a twostorey extension will provide 18 new bedrooms and dining space to add to accommodation for 47 people living with dementia and other mental health conditions.
Dr Mark Ward, from Borough Care, said: “At a time of ever increasing pressure on hospital and care home beds, this is a significant investment we are making to boost the number available for people in Stockport.
“As people are living longer, and the number with dementia increases, demand will continue to rise in future years and we need to plan for this.”