Devon County Council announces new care home investments

Devon councillors have announced their commitment to an ambitious care home refurbishment programme, aiming to secure £3.8m from the council’s budget this year and a total £10m over the next three years.

With public services under pressure from Government cuts, councillor Stuart Barker believes that a sensible refurbishment programme offers a greater chance of success than attempts to secure private sector investment, which he criticised the former administration for looking to achieve.

‘What started under the control of the Council’s previous administration was a move to transfer the council’s residential homes to the private sector, to invest and improve the condition of buildings. Those attempts failed, and even more recent efforts to gain interest from the independent sector have come to nothing due to the current economic climate.

Mr Barker also spoke of the need to keep up with the growing demands of dementia care provision: ‘We also want our homes to be more responsive to local demand, and to be able to meet more specialised care needs in future. We know for example that there is a shortfall in Devon for residential care for people with dementia, and our longer term aim is to help meet that growing need.’

Together with this new investment, the Council is also working with NHS Devon in order to make ‘Flexible Breaks Grants’ available for members of the community who are full-time carers and in need of valuable respite.