A royal name chosen for new Ipswich care home

Company news

Dec 19, 2013

The new care home being built in the Ravenswood area of Ipswich is to be named after His Royal Highness Prince George, following a competition launched by Care UK in August.

Prince George House was suggested by Ipswich resident Mavis Palmer who, on hearing her suggestion had been chosen as the winning name, said: “I am thrilled to have won the competition. The birth of Prince George brought excitement to the nation and I think it’s a wonderful name for the exciting new care home development.”

Chris Hopkinson, Regional Operations Director at Care UK, said: “We are delighted that the local community have been involved in naming the new care home and wellbeing centre. Construction on Prince George House has begun and we look forward to welcoming the first residents when the home opens in early 2015.”

Mavis Palmer was presented with a £100 Love2Shop voucher alongside two other finalists, and Catherine Baker, a Care UK colleague from Crabbe Street care home in Ipswich, who suggested ‘Ravenswood Retreat’, and a relative of a resident at Crabbe Street who suggested ‘Cardinal House’.

The residents of Crabbe Street and Sidegate Lane care homes in Ipswich will have the opportunity to move into the new home, after which Crabbe Street and Sidegate Lane, which date from the 1960s and 1970s, will close. All residents and their relatives are being closely consulted with about the plans.

The new care home is one of ten in Care UK’s £60 million investment into care provision in Suffolk in partnership with Suffolk County Council. It is the second Care UK development for Ipswich, following Asterbury Place in Chantry which is due to open next summer.

The new care home will provide nursing and specialist dementia care services for up to 80 residents and is designed to be spacious, light and airy, with many communal areas for residents to meet with family, friends and fellow residents. The new home also has a garden with sitting out areas and attractive facilities including a café, hairdressers and small cinema.

The wellbeing centre will provide day care activities and clubs, which will help older people to maintain their independence for longer in their own homes and give valuable respite services for family carers.

Look out for further details of Care UK’s ‘give a home a name’ competitions in Suffolk at www.careuk.com/suffolk