Ceremony Marks Start Of Work On State-Of-The-Art Care Home In Southbourne

Last week, staff at Poole-based care provider Care South celebrated the start of construction work on a brand new 50-bed care home in Thornbury Road, Southbourne, with a special ground-breaking ceremony.

Care South’s Chairman, Felicity Irwin, led the sod-cutting ceremony to mark the commencement of the project to redevelop the site of Care South’s Wickmeads care home into a state-of-the-art facility for the care of older people.

The leading provider of high quality residential and home care services across the south of England has appointed Midas Southern, a division of The Midas Group – one of the largest independent construction companies in the county – to completely rebuild the care home.

Upon completion in Spring 2016, Wickmeads will have capacity for 50 residents and will offer elderly, specialist dementia and nursing care.

Simon Bird, Development Director at Care South, said: “This is a very exciting day for us! We are delighted to see rebuilding work begin on the Wickmeads site, in order to develop a modern home for residents with fantastic facilities. At Care South, we are mindful of the growing need for elderly care in the community and this redevelopment project follows our strategic plan to expand and invest in our care homes, helping to meet the needs of older people for the future. This new home will have increased capacity for residents and will offer the environment that will allow us to deliver the very highest quality of care for our residents for many years to come.”

Councillor Blair Crawford, cabinet member for adult social care at Bournemouth Council, said: “We are delighted to be able to work with Care South and facilitate the building of a brand new care home in Southbourne which will specialise in high-needs dementia care. Dementia is not just about memory loss; dementia can change the way that people experience the world around them. This new home will ensure that people living with dementia receive the support they need with the right advice and services so they can live well with dementia.”

Paul Strachan, Divisional Director for Midas Southern, said: “Wickmeads is a tremendous project for Bournemouth and we are proud to be working closely with Care South to create a truly first-class new care home to benefit residents for many years to come.”