Monday 31 July 2006
Leading the way in care for elderly

A £6.2 million state-of-the-art care and retirement centre in Oxfordshire is set to be a national leader in standards of care for the elderly.

The scheme, being built on the site of the former Donnington Middle School in Cornwallis Road, Oxford , will provide accommodation for 100 residents offering a mixture of residential care, nursing care and extra care housing.

Known as the Isis Care and Retirement Centre, accommodation will include 20 extra care apartments, with a communal lounge and other facilities.

In addition a care home, complete with internet café, beauty salon, bar and lounge with fully-sprung dance floor, is being developed on the same site.

The project by the Oxfordshire Care Partnership - a joint venture by leading housing association bpha and national care charity The Orders of St John Care Trust - is designed to enable residents to continue living in one location as their care needs change.

bpha, a housing association with homes throughout central, southern and eastern England, is working with the charity to improve or replace 19 care homes previously operated by Oxfordshire County Council.

John Cross, chief executive of bpha, said: "The Oxford scheme will be a major boost for care home facilities for older people in the county .

"By providing a mix of residential, nursing and extra care housing , residents will have the peace of mind of knowing that as their needs change, they will not face the upheaval of having to move to a new home."

The care home element within the Isis Centre is scheduled for completion towards the end of this year, with the whole development targeted for completion in March 2007.

Dawn Matthews-Smith, county director for Oxfordshire at The Orders of St John Care Trust, said: "We are committed to providing the highest standards of care for the elderly in Oxfordshire, and the Isis Care and Retirement Centre will help to provide some of the most modern care facilities in the UK."

The Oxford scheme will be the fifth to be completed as part of the Oxfordshire Care Partnership's care home redevelopment programme across the county.

Under the scheme, around 70 per cent of all beds are purchased by Oxfordshire County Council to allocate to elderly residents, with the remainder being available for private clients.

The whole redevelopment programme is due for completion by 2008.