MORE than a dozen people from Bolton with complex learning disabilities are to return to live in their home town as part of a £3.6 million scheme.

At the moment the adults live in secure and non-secure facilities away from the town, but as part of the Transforming Care programme they will be returned to the are and resettled in community placements which enable them to live more independent lives.

The scheme, which is funded jointly by Bolton Council and Bolton NHS Clinical Commissioning Group also includes improving specialist learning disabled services in the community and helping young people with learning difficulties to transition to adult care.

Bolton currently has one patient living a Calderstones, England’s last stand-alone NHS learning disability hospital in Whalley, Lancashire. It is set to close within the next three years, so Bolton authorities are now making plans to rehome them back in the town.

A further seven people are currently living in other secure facilities away from Bolton and five more adults with learning disabilities are in non-secure facilities.

Bolton had been set the target of reducing its number of inpatients living outside the area to 14 by March this year and, since April 2016, six Bolton people have been discharged from facilities and placed closer to home.

In a report Rachel Tanner, assistant director of care management at Bolton Council, admitted that the cost of resettling the patients closer to home in community placements is “proving to be very costly”.

Her update on the resettlement of patients in secure and non-secure disability facilities around the UK back to Bolton was presented to Bolton NHS Clinical Commissioning Group at its most recent board meeting.

CCG Chief officer Su Long said: “We don’t move anyone unless it is the right thing to do, we have to make sure individual needs are met before we move them.

“The resettlement of people with complex learning difficulties has more than achieved the requirements set out for us.

“We have more people back in home environments away from institutions then we were required to do but it is still a process we will manage across Bolton with the council and NHS trust.

“There is more planned re-establishment this coming year and housing suited for these peoples needs.

“We have also been informed of the closure of Calderstones and we still have people placed there who we are working to move, meet their needs and prepare for that closure taking place.”

The council and CCG work together on the Transforming Care programme, with the council as lead commissioner for learning disabilities on behalf of the CCG.

Both organisations have contributed to the £3.6 million budget.

Greater Manchester had set out for Bolton to reduce its number of inpatients to 14 by March this year and since April 2016, six Bolton people have been discharged from facilities and placed closer to home.

Plans to address an over-reliance on long stay inpatient care compared to other parts of the country, were previously given the green light following an extensive three month consultation involving patients, their families, staff and the public.