Support service to expand across Lancashire

A new housing and support service for older people and people with disabilities will be expanded across Lancashire in early 2020.

A spokesman for Lancashire County Council (LCC) said the ‘extra care’ service will allow people to live independently in their own homes, which can be easily adapted along with the care they receive, as their needs change, with easy access to 24-hour-care provided by workers based on the same site.

The spokesman said extra care schemes differ from traditional care homes in that they allow service users to live in their own flat, which they rent or lease, on sites that include communal services such as gyms, hair salons, cafes and function rooms.

Cllr Graham Gooch, cabinet member for Adult Services, said: ‘Housing and support for older people is changing

‘More and more people want to live independently as they get older in their own space – a place they can call home with their own front door.

‘These new extra care services provide superb, modern accommodation, a range of facilities on-site as well as care and support workers available 24/7 for those who need that level of support.

‘They are usually located close to the centres of towns and villages so people have easy access to facilities and can truly feel part of the community.

‘Extra care helps people to enjoy a more active lifestyle and evidence shows that this benefits not just the individuals who live there but also reduces pressures for admissions into hospital and residential care.

‘Such services are becoming an ever more important part of our health and social care system across Lancashire and the county council will continue to work with partners to seek further opportunities in the future.

‘We look forward to continuing to work with housing and support providers to develop these ground-breaking services.’

Two new schemes, The Courtyards in Preston and Lighthouse View in Fleetwood are due to open during 2020

The council has previously worked with partners, including registered housing providers and district councils, to develop extra care schemes in a number of districts including Ormskirk, West Lancashire, Whitworth in Rossendale, and Primrose Gardens in Chorley, which opened in the autumn of 2019.

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