Innovative 'short break' service is helping carers take a break
A ground-breaking facility to enable carers to take a break has opened in Great Harwood.
The innovative Meadowfold Hyndburn Ribble Valley Short Break Service is a £5m building on Blackburn Old Road, which provides short breaks for adults who have a disability for residents of Hyndburn and the Ribble Valley and across Lancashire.
Featuring purpose-built, fully-equipped facilities, the Lancashire County Council run service supports adults with a range of physical and learning disabilities, providing short breaks for them while enabling vital respite for families and unpaid carers.
It boasts specialist equipment, skilled and experienced staff on hand 24/7, a sensory room, spacious lounge areas, adapted, en-suite bathrooms and living quarters, which are all fully equipped.
Both emergency circumstances and planned stays are catered for, once people are assessed as eligible for support, while transport to and from the facility can also be provided where eligible.
The single-storey building includes eight en-suite bedrooms, specialist bathing equipment in bathrooms, offices, private spaces, dining and kitchen rooms, and quiet rooms.
Meanwhile, external features include brand new pedestrian pathways, fencing, paved areas, bike sheds and beautiful landscaping.
It's also environmentally sustainable, with modern insulation, natural ventilation and solar facilities to ensure the temperature stays constant.
Councillor Graham Gooch, Lancashire County Council's cabinet member for adult social care, welcomed the move.
He said: "This is a ground-breaking facility where everything has been fully adapted so we can tailor it to people's needs, to have safe, physical care.
"It has plenty of space for people to come together, enjoy leisure and social activities and new experiences, catch up with people they already know and spend some time doing activities out and about in the local community.
"This could be learning new skills, like getting involved in cooking, or enjoying the gardens, in a space that they know and is familiar to them.
"It's also got a self-contained flat for people who will need a bit more peace and quiet away from others if they struggle with groups, so it allows people to come and stay in a really lovely environment, with all the facilities you'd expect at home and more."
Breaks can range from an overnight stay to a short stay of a couple of weeks at the CQC-registered service, which has 24-hour support available
If you are interested in finding out more about careers in adult social care and the opportunities available across Lancashire, go to www.lancashire.gov.uk/jobs.
To find out more about accessing the service, please contact customer enquiries by phoning 0300 123 6701.