Lowestoft set for care jobs boost
DOZENS of care jobs are set to be created in Lowestoft now that proposals to extend a nursing home and create a specialist dementia care unit have been backed.
DOZENS of care jobs are set to be created in Lowestoft now that proposals to extend a nursing home and create a specialist dementia care unit have been backed.
With the number of elderly people in Waveney increasing as the district's population ages, the demand for nursing home places is likely to rise.
Lound Hall Nursing Home currently has space for 43 residents, but a new extension will make space for another 17 bedrooms and also create opportunities for more than 20 jobs.
Plans for the extension were unanimously approved by Waveney District Council's development control committee.
Mark Binns, one of the home's managers, told the committee the number of elderly people suffering from dementia in Waveney was set to increase from about 8,000 to 14,000 by 2017, so the extension would provide a specialist unit for dementia patients.
He said: 'The need to extend the building to improve service delivery is evident. The extension will provide 17 extra beds, as well as space for on-site external clinical support from dentists and chiropodists.
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'An additional 21 full-time jobs will be created and we will be able to safeguard the future of our residents and employees.'
The extension, which will be part one-storey and part two-storey, with a sedum roof, will be built next to the main house. The Georgian building and an older extension to the rear of the house will also be refurbished.
More care home jobs could be created in the town if a scheme to build an 80-bedroom nursing home on land off Leisure Way is given to go-ahead.
Proposals have been drawn up for a new nursing home, with 15 'very sheltered' units providing round the clock care, for the site next to the new Travelodge hotel.
The two-storey buildings would provide 80 single en-suite rooms, as well as accommodation for staff and residents' lounges and a dining room. The accommodation would be built in an L-shaped block on the northern side of the site, where residents could be supported by the care home staff via a 24-hour telephone alarm system.
The plans are expected to be considered by Waveney District Council later this year.
