Council favours 554 'extra care' homes in Wirral to save money

A council has decided to deliver 554 ‘extra care’ homes in Wirral by 2025 for people who may otherwise go into care homes, in a move intended to save money.

With 179 ‘extra care’ homes already built in Wirral, 375 more are to be completed by 2025 to give people access to care workers while living independently in self-contained homes.

Last night, (25 January), Wirral Council’s Adult Social Care and Public Health Committee agreed the development of further plans for the growth of extra care housing for Wirral.

'We are certainly going to deliver'

Simon Garner, the council’s lead commissioner for all age independence, told the Committee “we are certainly going to deliver” the 554 homes by 2025.

“The people who go into these schemes all have an adult social care and health need, as defined by the Care Act 2014.

“What we seek to do is get much more at the heart of what people say they need locally in the form of specialist housing such as this.”

In his report to the Committee about extra care housing, Simon Garner described extra care housing as ‘a popular choice among older people because it can sometimes provide an alternative to a care home’.

‘Extra care housing will help divert older people from moving into residential care and will allow the Borough to reinvest valuable resources into other services.

‘The programme of development extends to adults with learning disability, providing greater choice from different models of delivery’.

People living in extra care housing (also known as sheltered housing, assisted living, or 'housing with care'), have their own self-contained homes. The accommodation is designed with older people in mind and various levels of care and support available on site.

Cllr Chris Jones, who represents Labour, backed the plans for more extra care housing. Cllr Jones told the Committee extra care was the “ideal setup” for some, where they can get the care they need.