A WINCHESTER almshouses director has said it needs to develop to meet demand from the city’s ageing population.

Clive Cook, director of St John’s Winchester Charity, said they need to build another 30 units – on top of their existing 82 – in order to continue supporting elderly people to live independently and those suffering from dementia.

The charity hopes to raise around £1-1.5 million of the approximate £5 million required to build on the proposed sites at Colebrook Street and behind the Chesil Theatre.

Mr Cook said: “There is a shortage of people working in the sector. There are 1.5 million care workers employed in the UK now but by 2025 there needs to be 2.5 million because we have a rapidly ageing population. The number of people in Winchester over 80-years-old is predicated to double over the next six years.

“Our care homes are full,” he added. “The staff ratio is very favourable but it means we constantly need to employ new staff. Our turnover rate is low but people do move. Right now, we need a new care home manager.”

He hopes the charity’s forthcoming open days – July 10 and 11 – will help bring in the extra hands they need to continue.

They are looking for nurses and carers to add to their existing team who will work across the renovated sites – which Mr Cook says he hopes to have completed within the next five years.

“Our standards are very high, we’re rated well by the CQC and for that to remain we need good people and plenty of them,” he said. “Employment is rising across the UK, which is obviously good on one hand, but it’s actually more difficult for us to recruit at the moment. The Government has cut training programmes for nurses at a time when we need more.”

The staff recruitment days will be held from 10am-3pm at the North Almshouses.