THE NUMBER of older residents needing residential nursing care provision funded by Wokingham Borough Council is projected to rise, and it is exploring ways to meet that need.
Cllr David Hare, the executive member for health and wellbeing and adult services at Wokingham Borough Council, said at the moment there was a need for around 200 places, and this would rise to just under 500 by 2040.
As a result, the council is exploring business models. This resulted in plans for the proposed specialist dementia care home in the new Toutley development being axed as it was “no longer delivering good value for money to the council and its residents”.
To compensate for this, the council has bought a care home on Barkham Road from Four Seasons, but full details of this cannot be shared for commercial confidentiality.
“We are looking to increase our portfolio of care homes in the borough,” he continued, saying this would be a mixture of new developments and acquisitions.
The comments were made in response to a question about this plan from Cllr Charles Margetts, who requested a copy of the business plan, at a meeting of the council’s executive committee on Thursday, July 27.
