We mentioned a while ago that the former Glamourous Gowns showroom in St George’s Road was being converted into office accommodation. But we’ve not shown the result before. So here it is.
Bluebird Care, the new occupant, appears to be a national chain of franchises. Its branches are shown on its website:
Now, some people claim that Camberley already has too many care homes and care facilities of one sort or another. We can see their point, but Camberley HAS to have an identity which is different from the commercially-expanding neighbouring towns. We can’t compete with them head-on, but becoming a town that caters for the elderly and frail would differentiate us. Of course, it wouldn’t be without significant challenges; but almost anything would be better than gradual decline.
The Camberley Eye 
Is there an argument for saying that there may be too many care homes in the area of Camberley, but that there may not be enough ‘affordable’ carers to go into peoples’ homes so that they can stay in a place that they know and in which they are comfortable? By ‘affordable’ I do not mean ‘cheap’, carers need to be able to earn a decent, living wage, one which shows that their work is valued. Perhaps the aged could be helped with paying for these people instead of being subsidised when they move into a care home.
But is it actually a case of ‘either/or’? Loneliness is a major problem amongst the elderly. Living together in a care home can solve this. Most people want to hang to their independence, but sometimes this isn’t really the right thing to do.
If an old person stays in their own home with carers in and out several times per day, or with carers helping the old people to get out and about to shop or visit clubs, etc. they can have the best of both worlds. They will not have time to be lonely. But, each case has to be treated on its own merit and each person’s care tailored to them. It is not a case of all answers fit all situations as is so often the case these days. But, a major point is that there should be a continuity of carers, not a different person at every visit, another problem which can occur at the moment.
It’s up to the voters, Angela.
The elderly still like shops to visit when they can get out.
But they don’t spend enough to keep most shops open .And with fewer shops, the whole shopping centre has to close. (But I gather the female residents in the care homes around us provide good business for the ladies hairdressers.)
Surely there are many elderly wealthy residents in and around Camberley and guess a percentage don’t use the Internet, maybe the travel infrastructure needs looking at to provide better access to shopping access.