MacAskill to open new £1 million care home

JUSTICE Secretary Kenny MacAskill is set to open a new care home in Restalrig next month.

Mr MacAskill, MSP for Edinburgh East, will open the new Forthland Lodge Care Home on Alemoor Park on December 5.

Carol-Anne Foote, area manager of care home owners Mealmoor Ltd, said: "We bought the nine-year-old building in 2005 and since then we've carried out £1 million of improvements, including increasing its capacity by almost 50 per cent to 47 beds."

The building, formerly owned by Leith Benevolent Association, used to provide supported housing for the elderly but will now provide more hands-on care for the frail, people with dementia and those with acquired brain injury.

Ms Foote added: "The changes mean the home has moved from supported housing, where elderly people live with a greater degree of independence, to a nursing care institution for people with special needs for all ages."