Member Article

£10m care facility given go-ahead

A Gateshead based health care firm is set to create 100 jobs on Teesside, after construction of a £10 million care facility was given the green light.

Whickham Villa LLP specialises in neuro rehabilitation services, and will now begin work on ‘The Gateway’ at Middlehaven in Middlesbrough in partnership with Erimus Housing this summer.

The new facility, which will open its doors in Winter 2013, will be the only one of its kind in the UK which includes a residential ‘step forward’ rehabilitation centre, a specialist health club facility and a range of transitional and supported housing options on the same site.

Boda Gallon, chief executive at Whickham Villa LLP, said: “We are absolutely delighted that our plans have been approved so we can now begin building something that will hugely benefit people in their rehabilitation from serious brain and spinal injuries and support people in the community living with neurological and other long term conditions.

“Currently, people discharged from hospital-based neuro and spinal units on Teesside often have to travel to Newcastle for specialist rehabilitation treatment. The idea is to therefore create first class facilities and deliver personalised services that will help rehabilitate people quicker and hopefully help them live with a greater sense of independence.

Over 100 people are already employed by Whickham Villa on Tyneside, and the new site will create a further 100 in the Middlesbrough area.Construction on site will now begin following a series of public consultations, where local residents, potential service users and the wider community backed the £10 million project.

Boda added: “The creation of so many jobs from the project and the multi-million pound investment is also a fantastic boost for the local economy and Teesside will very much be leading the way as there is simply nothing like this anyway in the UK.”

Whickham Villa developed the Gateway concept with a number of partners to support the NHS in terms of facilitation quicker discharge from hospital, and also reducing long term care costs by helping individuals live more independently.

The main 40-bedroom facility will house an internal pool, gymnasium, therapy rooms and a café, a knowledge centre and an array of community facilities.

As part of the development Erimus Housing will be providing an array of transitional housing options to enable to people to move towards more community living options.

Chris Smith, managing director of Erimus Housing, added: “We are really pleased to be part of this fantastic scheme for Middlesbrough and the wider Tees Valley.

“It is a really important facility for local people and we have developed a strong partnership with Whickham Villa which will help provide a holistic service for people as they make the transition from dependence to independence.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .