Bupa and Southampton City Council boost facilities for older people

Bupa and Southampton City Council are working together to boost facilities for older people in Southampton, particularly those with forms of dementia, such as Alzheimer's disease.

As one of the UK's leading care home providers, Bupa received planning permission earlier this year for a new 71 bed care home in Freemantle Common Road, which will provide much needed specialist dementia care facilities to the area.

The home, to be called Oak Lodge, will also house a day centre for local older people.

Oak Lodge is due to open in the autumn of 2009, after a £5.7million development programme by Bupa.

Today, the company announced that it has agreed a partnership contract with Southampton City Council, which will see the council manage the day centre at Oak Lodge, with places for up to 15 people.

The agreement will also mean that 40 of Oak Lodge's beds will be made available to the council for residents funded by the local authority, while the remainder of the rooms will be available to self-pay residents.

Speaking about the contract, Sue Greenwood, Regional Manager for Central and West at Bupa Care Homes said: "The number of people in the UK with forms of dementia, such as Alzheimer's disease, is rising rapidly, but there is a real lack of specialist dementia facilities to care for them.

That is why Bupa is investing millions of pounds each year in building new care homes and redeveloping existing ones, to help improve the standards of care for older people.

"We believe that Oak Lodge will be a shining example of our commitment to improving facilities for older people and are pleased to be working together with Southampton City Council on the development of this home." Councillor Ivan White, Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Health at Southampton City Council commented: "We are delighted to be working with Bupa to provide day services and specialist care for some of Southampton's most vulnerable residents.

The new Oak Lodge promises to be an excellent facility and will ensure we continue to improve that standards of care available to people with dementia in the city." Dr David Paynton, Managing Director of Commercial Services at Southampton City Primary Care Trust, said: "We are extremely pleased to be involved in this partnership project.

The new Community Resource Centre at Oak Lodge is a much needed facility in the City and we look forward to welcoming patients to the Centre." Construction work on Oak Lodge is expected to begin next month.

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