Foundation Stone Laid for New Care Centre in South Cerney

The Orders of St John Care Trust (OSJCT) has unveiled the foundation stone for its new state-of-the-art care centre in Gloucestershire following an official ceremony on Tuesday 26th January.

[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"1211","attributes":{"class":"media-image aligncenter size-medium wp-image-6210","typeof":"foaf:Image","style":"","width":"300","height":"200","alt":"image001"}}]]Set for completion at the end of 2016, the new 64-bed facility, which will be called The Lakes Care Centre, will include two floors dedicated to providing a combination of residential and specialist dementia care and will comprise of four 16-bed households, each one complete with its own kitchen and communal living space.

Linking the two households on the ground floor will be a central destination area that will feature a tearoom, hair-salon and garden lounge for residents to enjoy. Landscaped gardens will also be accessible from each of the ground floor households, along with a communal garden that will be accessible from the garden lounge.

Chris Poole, Assistant Operations Director for OSJCT in Gloucestershire, said: “We’re thrilled about bringing a brand-new care facility to the county, especially with the increasing number of older people living in care and dementia becoming more and more prevalent every year.

“Construction is obviously at a very early stage but once it has progressed to a point where we can open a marketing suite, we will of course be inviting the local community to come and see the excellent facilities we will have to offer.

“We’ve definitely secured a great location in South Cerney and are confident that, once complete, The Lakes will provide people in the surrounding area with high quality care for years to come.”

Cllr Dorcas Binns, Gloucestershire County Council Cabinet Member for Older people, who, together with Mrs Margaret Willcox, Director of Adult Social Services, unveiled the Foundation Stone, said: "We recognise that the population of Gloucestershire is ageing and that, as a result, there will be a growing need for good quality, high specification services, particularly for people with dementia. We are, therefore, very pleased to see developments such as The Lakes Care Centre taking place in the Cotswolds."

The home is being built by Stepnell Ltd in partnership with The Orders of St John Care Trust, which will provide the care in the new home.

Stepnell joint managing director, Tom Wakeford, said: "We are immensely proud of our on-going relationship with The Orders of St John Care Trust through which we are together developing improved care facilities, most particularly for older people living with dementia."

For more information about OSJCT, visit www.osjct.co.uk.