Public set for glimpse of the future as £9m South Shields health '˜Haven' gears up for grand opening

Hospital bosses are sharing a glimpse of the future with local people as a multi-million pound health ‘haven’ gets set to open its doors.

Haven Court, the borough’s new £9m health and social care hub for older people, will officially swing into action on Monday.

Residents are being given a sneak preview of the raft of services and facilities on offer at the centre, which will be a crucial weapon in the borough’s fight against dementia.

An open day will be held from 10am to 4pm on Wednesday, with people urged to drop in and see at first hand what the ambitious development set in the grounds of South Tyneside District Hospital will be offering.

The entrance to the building is on McAnany Avenue, South Shields.

Haven Court has been built by South Tyneside NHS Foundation Trust, on behalf of South Tyneside Council, to provide a wide range of high quality support and services, including residential, day and respite care, and rehabilitation for older people, particularly those with dementia. The emphasis will be on helping them to live as independently as possible, with a top class rehabilitation and therapeutic service available to enable them to return to their own homes.

During the open day, there will be guided tours of the 80-bedded centre, which also has rooms for medical consultations and assessment of people’s needs, and which will be a source of information and advice, as well as help to use technological aids to support independent living. Services will be provided by a range of bodies including South Tyneside Council, South Tyneside NHS Foundation Trust, other local Trusts and the voluntary sector.

The decision to build the centre was given the green-light as the borough braces itself for a huge surge in the number of dementia cases among an ageing population.

By 2030, there is expected to be a 50 per cent rise in the cases of dementia and a 138 per cent increase among those aged over 90.

Dr Bob Brown, South Tyneside NHS Foundation Trust’s Executive Director, Nursing and Patient Safety, said: “Haven Court is an exciting, innovative development of which everyone in South Tyneside can be very proud.

“It will improve the health and wellbeing of our growing ageing population, and the increasing numbers of people with dementia, by providing integrated health and social care in state-of-the-art surroundings now and into the future.

“I hope that local people take advantage of the open day to get a flavour of what this facility, which we see as being at the very heart of the community, has to offer.”

Councillor Tracey Dixon, Lead Member for Independence and Wellbeing, said: “Haven Court is one strand of the Council’s ambitious strategy to reshape the entire health and social care system.

“This flagship development will position us at the forefront of transformational change to deliver positive results for our residents.

“By integrating health and adult social care more effectively, we can deliver enhanced services to our residents.”

Haven Court will be run by more than 60 dedicated staff, including registered nurses and highly trained carers known as care advocates.