£140m deal means both will chip in for nursing home, extra-care flats and daycare centre
The first private finance initiative deal funded by both the Department of Health and the ODPM was announced this week.

Hammersmith & Fulham council and its local primary care trust signed the £139.9m deal on 31 March with Hanover Housing Association and private firm Care UK.

The project means three sites in west London will be used for 34 extra-care sheltered housing flats, 130 nursing home places, respite and rehabilitation facilities for 14 people and a daycare centre for older people with mental health problems.

This will expand facilities for the elderly and replace a 24-bed nursing home.

The services are expected to open between autumn 2005 and spring 2006 and are part of the borough's strategy to boost care facilities for the elderly.

The Department of Health is putting in £7.3m of PFI credits, which will pay for the nursing facilities. The ODPM will provide £4.7m, which will cover the sheltered housing.

The council is investing £2.9m towards construction costs and will lease the sites to Care UK for 25 years. The council and primary care trust will provide a total of £5m a year for 25 years to fund the services.

The deal has taken since July 2001 to arrange. Richard Pearman, business development director of Care UK said: "It took slightly longer than normal PFI schemes of this size because of different the elements of the project. It's the first one of its kind to be procured under PFI so it was a learning process."

Hanover's marketing director, Michele Hollywood, said: "Hanover already works with Care UK on other extra-care estates and work to a similar ethos – wanting to help people to be independent for as long as they can."

A council spokesman said: "Previously the borough relied on obtaining nursing home placements on a spot-contract basis, with the potential uncertainties of availability and quality inherent in this approach."

Care UK and Hanover will bid next week for a second scheme to combine ODPM and Department of Health funding.

The £20m project, in Coventry, comprises three extra-care housing schemes and two residential care schemes for people with dementia.

"Hopefully the lessons learned in Hammersmith & Fulham will be applicable there," said Pearman.

Source

Housing Today