Redevelopment of care home set to create 10 jobs
A Northamptonshire care home is set to take on new residents and create jobs, after completing an extensive redevelopment project using the support of a funding package from Lloyds Bank.
Byfield-based Flora Innes House is an independent residential care home that provides specialist care for up to nine adults aged 15 to 65 years, who have profound behavioural conditions and acute learning difficulties such as autism.
The care home has used the six-figure funding package from Lloyds Bank to completely renovate and refurbish its existing premises into a brand-new residential facility. The new development has been specially designed for people with complex care needs, with nine en-suite bedrooms for residents and dedicated areas for its staff, who provide a 24/7 care service.
As part of the building’s complete modernisation, the funding has also been used to revamp the site’s communal facilities that will include a specialist kitchen area and a garden room where residents can grow their own vegetables. It will also feature a secure medication room, which is only accessible by authorised care home staff, in order to ensure the complete safety of residents.
The relaunch of Flora Innes House will create 10 new full-time jobs for caring staff, and the site will have a total of 12 full-time employees.
Flora Innes House is one of five care home sites within Northamptonshire that make up the Solden Hill House network of care properties, a charity that is celebrating its 65th anniversary this year.
The group, which has an annual turnover of £1.5million, has had no reported cases of COVID-19, with staff adhering to the business’s continued high standard of hygiene, health and cleaning routine, and making full use of PPE.
The transformation of Flora Innes House is currently underway and is expected to be completed by December. The premises will be ready to welcome new residents with effect from January 2021, with the renovation project reinforcing the commitment by Local Health Authorities and the Care Quality Commission to provide additional facilities of this type in the local community.
Richard Smith, general manager, Solden Hill House said: “The development and refurbishment of our Flora Innes site has been specifically designed to offer the highest standards of facilities and specialist care services for our residents, who all have challenging behavioural conditions.
“Gaining funding for the modernisation of an established residential care development like this is so much more than an investment in bricks and mortar. It’s an investment in people with profound difficulties and our aim is to create a shorter contract support package that focusses on outcomes for our residents and hopefully enables them to gain skills to become progressively more independent. The healthcare team at Lloyds Bank supported our vision to achieve this from the offset of the project and their input has been extremely beneficial.”
Michael Hunter, healthcare relationship manager, Lloyds Bank, said: “The modernisation and subsequent re-launch of Flora Innes House will have a tangible impact on the local community in Northamptonshire, providing more people from across the region with access to high-quality and specialist care in an innovative and comfortable supported living environment.
“Residential care homes like Solden Hill House provide a vital service within their local areas and it’s essential that they receive the tailored funding support needed to provide the best possible service to residents and their families. That’s why we have a dedicated team of regional relationship managers who can provide the specialist guidance that care businesses like this need to prosper.”
