Hampshire Council鈥檚 social services department has received 拢40m from the government to build nursing homes. It鈥檚 the first local authority to get such a grant.
The money, from the Isle of Wight strategic health authority and the Department of Health, will provide 500 beds on 15 sites run by the council on a mix of council and NHS-owned land.

The county will pay the 拢13m annual running costs and has contributed 拢20m to the scheme. Beds will be available from 2004.

The facilities will save the NHS 拢6m a year in delayed discharges from hospital. They replace the 500 private beds lost in the county, highlighted as a hotspot for home closures by health secretary Alan Milburn last October.

Council leader Ken Thornber said he believed the DOH agreed to the proposals because the council already runs 26 homes, some of which will be extended under the plans, and agreed to contribute to costs.

The council鈥檚 move bucks the trend for stock transfer. Thornber said: 鈥淲e are given the responsibility to inspect the level of care in the private sector. We take the view that we best know what the level of care should be by being in the market.鈥�

Source

Housing Today