A SIX figure sum is set to be spent on four new dementia units across Gwynedd, pending cabinet approval.

A report to be presented to decision makers next week, recommends that an annual figure of £808,000 should be spent on staffing four brand-new specialist dementia units at Gwynedd Council-run residential homes.

With building work already completed on developing the specialist units at Llys Cadfan in Tywyn, Plas Hafan in Nefyn and Plas Hedd in Bangor thanks to the Welsh Government’s Integrated Care Fund, the unit at Llan Ffestiniog’s Bryn Blodau is expected to be completed by the end of June 2019.

According to officers, the need to invest in council-run dementia provision has intensified following the closure of two private homes over the past six months, with Dolgellau’s Llwyn residential home closing in May and the Penisarwaun nursing residential home shutting its doors two months later.

The report states, “Whilst collaboration between the Health Board and Gwynedd Council has succeeded to secure local placements for those residents who were affected, it has also highlighted that the number of more intensive care beds and nursing beds in Gwynedd is not sufficient to meet future needs especially if we are to ensure that care can be offered close to the homes of the majority of the county’s residents.

“With private investment in more nursing homes in the area unlikely and increasing risks that other providers will disappear from the market, the Department’s work programme has identified a series of homes where a relatively low level of capital investment alongside revenue investment can offer opportunities to strengthen the provision offered in Gwynedd.”

Officers are also mindful of the care needs of care home residents having intensified over recent years, balancing the effort to assist people to remain in their homes for as long as possible on the one hand and the lack of nursing beds on the other.

The cabinet member for adults, health and well-being, Cllr Gareth Roberts, said: “Delivering the specialist care that people with dementia need can be very complex and we know that there simply isn’t the capacity at present within the private sector, especially in some of the more rural communities within Gwynedd.

“Too often, we have seen people with dementia having to seek the residential care they require in facilities far from their family and friends.

“Gwynedd residents have repeatedly told us about the grief and anguish caused by trying to cope with the effects of dementia on loved ones, which is often multiplied many times over by having to travel large distances to specialist care facilities far from home.

“I am therefore proud of the fact that we as a Council can develop vital services like these for our more vulnerable residents, especially during a time when local authorities are having to prioritise spending.”

These specialist dementia units form part of the joint efforts of Gwynedd Council working with Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board to ensure that older people have access to the specialist care and health services they need within their community.

The construction work has been completed at the Council’s homes in Tywyn, Bangor and Nefyn. This work included adapting parts of the residential units so that they are suitable for residents with dementia.

The work includes extending the dementia facility at Plas Hedd in Bangor, and work will shortly get underway to extend the specialist dementia space at the Bryn Blodau home in Llan Ffestiniog.

Each of the dementia units in question will be a home for 7 or 8 individuals, creating a need for two members of staff on the morning shift, two for the afternoon / evening and one overnight.

Additional support will be available at all times by the remaining staff of the

residential home.

Cllr Roberts concluded, “We are confident that this model of working together with our partners in the health sector will be a major benefit to our local communities.

“As a Council, we will be monitoring the progress and if successful will be looking to extend the model to other parts of the county should resources be available.”

If approved by Gwynedd Council’s cabinet next Tuesday, staff recruitment will get underway during early 2019.