A West Yorkshire hotel converted into a 113-bed care home to help tackle the Covid-19 crisis has accepted its first residents.
Cedar Court in Ainley Top between Huddersfield and Halifax is said to be the first UK hotel to be converted into a care home to ease pressure on essential services.
In response to the increase in Covid-19 cases, Calderdale Council, Calderdale Clinical Commissioning Group and the Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust worked together to build capacity within the community to improve the flow of available beds at Calderdale Royal Hospital.
“We've been working on this alongside primary care for about a month and admitted the first three residents last Wednesday,” a Calderdale Council spokeswoman said.
Cedar Court home care manager Fiona Smith said the facility will meet the needs of vulnerable people who cannot be cared for in their own home.
“This is usually following discharge from hospital or to prevent admission to hospital but it is also available to provide carers with some respite or where a carer may no longer able to provide the support which is needed, for example through illness,” she added.
The service is registered with the Care Quality Commission and is managed by a team from the council that has been specially created for this purpose.
“The team is very enthusiastic in its support for the new service and want it to provide a positive experience for the people who stay here,” said Smith.
“This includes organising a range of activities such as arts and crafts, music and singing, quizzes, card and board games and also encouraging people to use the hotel grounds in line with government guidelines to exercise once a day, whilst maintaining social distancing,” she added.
Cedar Court has single rooms with en-suite facilities and offers house-keeping, catering and laundry facilities, Smith said.
