New Care has opened a new care home in Cheshire to help ease the burden on the NHS amid the coronavirus crisis.
The Bramhall Manor facility has been commissioned in its entirety by Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council and the local NHS to free up beds at Stepping Hill Hospital.
Stepping Hill Hospital has already started to transfer patients who are well enough to be discharged from hospital but need rehabilitation and further assessment to identify their ongoing care needs before returning home.
The purpose-built care facility has 71 fully furnished bedrooms with en-suite facilities, stylish communal lounges, dining rooms, libraries and extensive gardens.
“The contract with the NHS will not only assist with the current crisis, but when coronavirus is under control there will undoubtedly be a need for more care home beds to deal with the longer-term implications of the more vulnerable patients,” said New Care chief operating officer Cath Fairhurst.
“Covid-19 has put massive immediate pressure on the NHS, however the current situation has also highlighted the ongoing huge shortfall of beds in hospitals, many of which are in use by stable patients who have been medically discharged but require rehabilitation before returning home,” she added.”
“There is quite simply nowhere for these patients to go, so they remain in hospital blocking beds. A fresh approach to the provision of care facilities and beds is needed now more than ever before.”
New Care meanwhile has resubmitted a previously refused planning application for a 60-bed care facility in Wilmslow in Cheshire.
The application was refused in January 2020 despite a recommendation for approval by Cheshire East Council planning officers.
New Care said it is now asking the council to reconsider and to grant consent at the earliest possible opportunity rather than waiting months for the appeal process to run its course.
