A NEW health and social care academy will soon be delivered in Somerset using funding from central government.
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) confirmed on January 19 that it would be awarding £19.7m to Sedgemoor District Council and its partners following a successful bid to the levelling up fund.
The funding will be used to create a new health and social care training facility at the former community hospital in Bridgwater town centre, along with a satellite site in Minehead.
Somerset County Council’s executive committee met in Taunton on Monday (February 27) to officially accept the funding and get the ball rolling on acquiring the site on Salmon Parade.
The former community hospital, which dates back to 1865, has lain vacant since 2014 when the new community hospital and minor injuries unit opened on Bower Lane.
There have been previous efforts to bring the grade two listed building back into use, with the Wells-based Salmon Parade Developments applying in January 2022 to turn it in to a hotel, restaurant and gym.
The successful funding bid will allow the building to be purchased by the new unitary Somerset Council and turned into a “training centre of excellence in health and social care” – with an “annexe” being provided at The Seahorse Centre on Stephenson Road in Minehead, near the town’s Tesco supermarket.
The new centre will be used to “attract, retain, grow, and upskill” key workers in the health and social care sector, boosting staff numbers in Somerset and encouraging them to remain in the county after they finish training.
Technology companies will be encouraged to set up near the site to “drive innovation”, and the centre will provide more capacity for primary care services in and around the town, allowing more people to be supported in their own homes.
Around 2,270 sq m of training space will be provided across the two sites, along with 860 sq m of key worker and trainee accommodation and 400 sq m of commercial office or business space.
In Bridgwater, the work will complement the improvements being made to Salmon Parade and the surrounding area as part of the delivery of the Celebration Mile, which is being funded by £9m from the Bridgwater town deal.
The scheme will also make a £2m contribution towards the delivery of the Bridgwater tidal barrier, which is designed to protect homes and businesses in and around the town from future flooding.
Councillor Ros Wyke, portfolio holder for development and assets, said: “This is a very exciting project to lift health and social care in Somerset to another level, in terms of the support we give the sector.”
The council estimates that a further 8,800 care staff will be needed by 2035, with the new facility expected to provide around 20 per cent of this number (c. 1,760 people).
Councillor Rosemary Woods – who represents the Watchet and Stogursey division – asked for the delivery of the Minehead facility to be sped up, given the building has fewer practical challenges.
The facility – which is a short distance from a development of 54 new council houses currently being constructed on Seaward Way – is currently run by Discovery, which provides support for adults with learning disabilities.
She said: “The Seahorse Centre is an ideal facility for our elderly population. Can this be brought forward early on in the project?”
Doug Bamsey, Sedgemoor’s deputy chief executive, responded: “The thinking is that because the Seahorse Centre as a building is easier to get going with, that could be an earlier outcome.”
Following the executive’s approval, the Bridgwater site can be purchased using the levelling up funding and a contractor can be procured to convert the building for its new purposes.
Council leader Bill Revans (who represents the North Petherton division near Bridgwater) said :”Clearly this is an exciting project that brings back into use a significant building in Bridgwater.
“It’s important to develop this project into the rural areas of west Somerset, and it’s great to have cross-party support on this. I think this will be truly transformational.”
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