Work to commence on help centre for elderly people

The town's primary care trust has spent three years planning the £1m rehabilitation unit to be built in Hundens Lane.

Services will include foot care, continence advice, a falls clinic, equipment shop, rehabilitation clinic, exercise and tai chi classes, occupational therapy, physiotherapy and nursing assessments.

There will also be a gym, treatment rooms and a quiet area.

Staff will be able to offer advice and show health promotion videos.

The trust's clinical lead for intermediate care, Barbara Johnson, said the centre would dramatically improve people's lives.

"The aim is to give advice on how to prevent falls, improve people's balance and enable people to return to independent living after any health problems," she said.

The trust's operations services manager, Lynne Gibson, said: "Old people who stay in their home do so much better than those who have to go into hospital.

"Hospitals are for people with acute illnesses, not for old age.

"It is our role to make sure these people are supported."

The Hundens Lane unit will also provide a base for a team of community auxiliary workers, who support elderly people in their own homes.

Mrs Gibson said: "They are not there to wait on people, but do afford people the dignity of doing things for themselves."

Mrs Johnson said: "If people are on their own too much they can become despondent, particularly after a bout of ill health and if they are unable to get out.

"If they have someone visiting regularly it can really stimulate their minds.

"They also get a great sense of achievement when they are encouraged to do tasks independently, which can boost their confidence.

"We are here to enable them to do as much as they can themselves.

"Our aim is for people to achieve maximum independence."

A spokesman for Darlington Primary Care Trust said that the development of the centre should help to take take pressure off local hospitals beds.