Plans advance for new £14.6 million residential care home in Gwynedd

Plans for a new care home in Gwynedd have moved a step closer as the local authority voted to press on with a bid for £14.6 million from the Welsh Government.

The new home will be built on the site of the old Polish Home at Penyberth, Penrhos, and will have around 60 bed, providing a mix of dementia, nursing, and respite care.

The Council has already begun discussions with Welsh Government about the project and has also secured the transfer of two acres of land at Penyberth from Clwyd Alyn Housing Association.

The Council’s Adults, Health and Wellbeing Department will now present a business case to the government, requesting funding from the Health and Social Care Integration and Rebalancing Capital Fund (IRCF).

The project is part of a wider partnership between Gwynedd Council and Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (BCUHB), which aims to improve the provision of nursing care in the county.

While the council is a significant provider of residential care, many nursing homes in Gwynedd are operated by independent or third sector providers.

Dire shortage

Councillor Dilwyn Morgan, Cyngor Gwynedd’s Cabinet Member with responsibility for the Adult’s, Health and Wellbeing Department said: “Ensuring local people can have the care they deserve close to home is a priority for the Council. A local, sustainable, and high-quality provision of care homes is an essential part of any health and care system. Without this, people are missing out on the health and wellbeing opportunities which should be available to all.

“Unfortunately, there is a dire shortage of nursing home spaces across the county and which is more acute in the Llŷn area with no provision of publicly funded spaces at all. Proportionally, more people from Llŷn are having to travel further away from home and to get the right nursing care.

“It’s a heart-breaking situation whereby the only suitable places for people when they are at their most vulnerable is miles away from home, their families and all that’s dear to them. If people are forced to move outside Gwynedd for nursing care, it is more difficult to ensure Welsh-language services, which often compounded the situation for the individual.

“This is why we’re determined to work with our partners from the Health Board to bring about this exciting development.”

Innovative

A report approved by Cyngor Gwynedd’s Cabinet also recognised the importance of maintaining the ethos of the former Penrhos Polish Home, which was known for its innovative approach to care.

Councillor Morgan added: “The former Penrhos Polish Home was a very innovative care home, and we want to build on that ethos with the development of the new home. We want to create a home that is warm, welcoming, and supportive, and where people can live with dignity and independence.”

Council officers will now develop detailed designs and plans, to be submitted to the formal planning process during the autumn of 2024, with the aim of construction work starting in the autumn of 2025.

It is hoped the home will be complete and ready to welcome its first residents in 2027.