Work underway on kids' holiday home
A SCOTTISH-based care provider is set to operate a new short-break residential unit for disabled children in South Tyneside.
Part of the former Murtagh Diamond House nursing home at The Wynde, on the Parkway estate in South Shields, is being demolished to make way for the new unit.
Now senior councillors are being recommended to award the 412,000 annual contract to run the children's unit to Quarriers of Paisley.
Overnight residential short-break care for disabled borough children is currently provided at the Alan Shearer Centre in Newcastle.
But last year, the council's decision-making cabinet agreed to convert Murtagh Diamond to provide the service locally.
Building conversion work is planned for completion in the autumn, with the new unit opening in January next year.
Seven care providers submitted tenders to run the contract, including Barnardos, Community Integrated Care and St Cuthbert's Care.
But Quarriers provided the most "economically advantageous bid", cabinet members will be told next week.
A report to the committee says: "The interview panel were impressed by their child-centred approaches in working with children and young people with complex needs, and their commitment to working with families."
Quarriers is a long-established charitable organisation, with 2,000 employees, and an annual turnover of 43m.
It delivers services to 23 local authorities in Scotland and three local authorities in South West England.
The report adds: "The proposed revenue cost of the new service is 48,119 for initial one-off set-up costs and 412,850 annual service running costs.
The contract period is five years, with an option to extend by up to a further five years.
"The establishment of an overnight residential short-break unit for disabled children in South Tyneside will ensure that our young people with the most complex needs will be more integrated into the local community."
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Weather for Jarrow
Sunday 05 February 2012
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