An adult social care provider is set to redevelop a care home in Bridport with a new scheme which aims to support people who are discharged from hospital.
Adult social care provider Care Dorset today announced plans to redevelop Sidney Gale House (SGH) in Bridport – with ambitions to develop a new residential and reablement centre on the same site.
The centre aims to provide residential support those who are recovering from hospital visits so that they can eventually gain full independence at home or find an alternative care and support path.
The cost of the scheme was not available and Care Dorset was also not able to disclose how many new jobs would be created.
It says it will be supporting the 12 residents who will have to move out to make way for the new development.
This is the latest scheme for the area supporting elderly people.
Sidney Gale House is located near the Crown roundabout, and close to the luxury retirement development of Gordon Court.
Plans have also been announced for a new 'independent living retirement development' nearby which would consist of 50 apartments and 25 cottages.
READ MORE: Bridport residents react to retiree development in Bridport
Bridport councillor Sarah Carney has shared how she hopes this new redevelopment on the Sidney Gale site will help improve social care for the elderly in the area.
She said: "I will say is that too many beds in Dorset County Hospital are taken up by people who are not acutely ill but are in desperate need of social care.
"This increases waiting lists for operations and emergency admissions. Care of the elderly in West Dorset has been woefully inadequate for some time now and I sincerely hope this and other projects in the pipeline will go some way to redressing this neglect."
Funding for the project comes in part from Dorset Council’s £80m package for supporting residents who are discharged from hospital or are recovering after a fall or illness in their own home.
The Sidney Gale site was subsequently earmarked as Dorset Council’s reablement and residential care hub for West Dorset.
The site has previously been criticised in a report published by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in 2017 when it was found to be ‘inadequate’. It was subsequently rated as "good" in a 2019 inspection.
Care Dorset as the care provider made the decision to cease activity at Sidney Gale after full site assessments revealed the substantial scope of repairs and upgrades needed to bring the site up to modern standards.
Maintenance issues meant since 2022 the 44-person capacity building was only able to accommodate 17 people.
Residency has since dropped to 12 people, all of whom "will be supported to relocate" in order to allow the site to be redeveloped it has been said.
Chris Best, managing director, said: “We are pleased to be involved in this development. It's important to us that we provide the highest quality care, in the best environments possible.
“Redeveloping this site to modern standards will allow us to achieve this for the people of Bridport.
“Like many buildings constructed in the mid-20th Century, Sidney Gale House has reached the end of its useful life.
“Our colleagues have delivered a good quality of care from an outdated building with great skill, and we are keen to recognise their commitment over this period.
“We look forward to working with Dorset Council on their exciting plans to redevelop the site.”
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