CWAC to provide grants to boost dementia provision
The council has pledged to match funding of between £10,000 and £250,000 per project to help care home providers build 70 specialist bedrooms within four years.
The dementia care home beds can either be built new or adapted from existing facilities, as per the terms of Cheshire West and Chest Council’s Care Home Capital Investment Programme. The grants can be applied for through the Chest: North West Procurement Portal.
CWAC is hoping that its investment will help it aid a growing population. The number of people living with dementia in the council’s boundaries is set to rise by 30% over the next five years, going from 5,990 people this year to 7,762 by 2030, according to the council.
“This investment is about more than bricks and mortar, it’s about ensuring that people living with dementia can live in dignity in the right place locally and at an affordable price,” said Cllr Sheila Little, CWAC’s member for adult social care.
“We want to hear from providers who have potential to increase their capacity or change their existing capacity to meet this growing area of demand,” she continued.
Cllr Carol Gahan, the cabinet member for resources, added: “The council is investing alongside our care providers in the future of the care home market which will bring benefits to local people living with dementia and their families for years to come.”
Dementia care will be increasingly required in England, with the most recent government data estimating that there are 742,088 people over the age of 65 who have demention. There are a confirmed 488,329 individuals with the disease – a record high.
Care home bed capacity in England is not yet able to meet the existing need either, according to government data. There are dementia care home beds for 73% of those who have been diagnosed with the disease. While the number of care home beds is improving, it is increasing at a slower rate compared to the number of people diagnosed with dementia.
