£42m special care bonus for city

Hull Council has been awarded almost 42m through the Private Finance Initiative to be invested across three sites for people with dementia and other complex needs.

The authority will submit a combined business case for the "extra care" facilities for final approval by the Treasury this summer.

Last year, 23.4m of Private Finance Initiative credits were released for the building of a further 120 extra care properties.

The latest announcement by the Department of Health provides for 100 one- and two-bedroom flats with 24-hour care to be built at The Thorpes in Orchard Park, the former Holden Centre in Leeds Road and in Hawthorne Avenue.

The accommodation is intended to offer residents tailored support for daily living with a greater degree of independence than is currently available in council care homes.

It will also include facilities for community involvement.

The council is already working with the health and voluntary sectors to ensure the plans reflect "the best in design and assistive technology", it said yesterday.

The head of social care and housing at the council, Angela Dunn, added: "We welcome the approval of our submission from the Department of Health, which will enable us to develop extra care as an alternative to institutional care for older people and adults with disabilities or mental health needs in the community. We are looking to develop these schemes in three locations across the city."

The PFI credits will finance the design and construction of the facilities. The council will invite tenders from the private sector to build the properties.

Only 40 extra care places are currently available in Hull, while and the council supports a further 356 people in accommodation outside the city.

In 2008, it was estimated that 8,477 people in Hull over the age of 65 lived alone with a limiting long-term illness, and this figure is expected to rise to 9,900 by 2020. It is thought that 30 per cent of people in such circumstances would benefit from extra care housing.

Sometimes called "assisted living" or "very sheltered housing", extra care accommodation is tailored to suit individual needs, and unlike residential care provides people with their own home, often a flat or bungalow, which can be rented or owned.

Access to care and support is available 24 hours a day, and extra care housing provides an alternative to residential care, giving people a chance to stay in their community and benefit from existing social networks.

It is thought that as well as improving the well-being of people in extra care, wider provision would also provide savings to the council and health services.

Extra care provision can also reduce the need for hospital admissions and enable faster discharges from hospital.

The specialist accommodation will save about 250 a day per person based on the cost of caring for someone in hospital.

This rises to a saving of 425 a day if there is a faster discharge from mental health assessment and treatment services for adults with a learning disability.

Hull Council's Cabinet member for adult care, health and equalities Stephen Baker said: "Improving the quality of life for older people is an important priority for the council, and extra care housing is an essential element in offering choice and helping people live as independently as possible."