Residents to move into new £3.5 million legion home

RESIDENTS TO MOVE INTO NEW £3.5 MILLION LEGION HOME The Royal British Legion took over their newly completed care home, Galanos House at Southam, yesterday, Monday 16 September and will be moving residents in on Monday 30 September. The Legion has continued to lead the way in providing care for ex- Service people and their dependants in the Midlands by rebuilding its only care home - Galanos House - for elderly people needing residential, nursing and day care. The two weeks interval will be used to prepare the Home for occupation and to continue to recruit and train staff - there are still a number of vacancies to be filled, although this will not affect those receiving care. The former Galanos House in nearby Long Itchington - one of the Legion's seven residential/nursing homes - has provided care and accommodation for 56 permanent residents over the past 34 years. However, the Legion wished to further improve facilities for the residents and new government legislation, which came into effect from April 2002, meant it could not meet the new national care standards, so it was decided to build a new home. "The cost and disruption to residents caused by extensive rebuilding on the old Galanos House were too great to be viable," says Alison Barnard, the Legion's Head of Homes. "The most economical and least disturbing approach for existing and future residents was to build a new Home on another site three miles away in Southam. Its close proximity to the old Galanos House means residents of the new Home are going to be able to retain close links with the community they have lived in, often for many years." The entire project, costing £3.5 million, has enabled the Legion to continue providing an important service in the region. In addition, the NHS no longer covers all the costs associated with frailty in old age, nor does it provide long term hospital beds for the elderly. The Legion is very active in the East and West Midlands - more than a fifth of its members live in the region. Therefore, Galanos House is working closely with Warwickshire Social Services to ensure that a wider range of high quality care and facilities are available to the local ex- Service community. In addition to 60 en-suite rooms, the new Home will offer day care spaces each week, allowing more local people to benefit from the facilities and residents to be involved in the community. The Home will also continue to have excellent access to local facilities, including doctors, dentists and shops, via a minibus. Rooms are larger in the new home, providing space for residents to receive guests privately and to accommodate the equipment needed for higher dependency nursing. There is full wheelchair access throughout, including the gardens, and four lounges offering social activities and space for religious observance. Treatments including chiropody and physiotherapy are also available in a therapy room. For further information: On the new Galanos House contact Peter Hartland on 01926 812 185 (Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm). General enquiries to Jeremy Lillies on 020 7973 7265/07831 811894 ------------------------------------------------------------ This information was brought to you by Waymaker http://www.waymaker.net The following files are available for download: http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2002/09/17/20020917BIT00270/wkr0001.doc http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2002/09/17/20020917BIT00270/wkr0002.pdf