Swansea home transformed to care for brain injured

A LONG-ESTABLISHED care home firm has opened a specialist care centre in Ystradgynlais.

Tracscare, which was launched in Swansea in the early 1980s, has opened Isfryn as an eight-bedroom home for adults with brain injuries caused by accident or illness from across South Wales and further afield.

The home has been built with en-suite rooms tailored to service users’ individual needs.

It was a former care home, but has been completely refurbished over the past six months.

A Tracscare spokesman said: “The property was run down and required major conversion and refurbishment which took over six months to complete.

“We spent £700,000 on the development and have created 20 local jobs.”

Manager Mel Heaher has 12 years of experience in the care sector and said Isfryn is five star luxury accommodation for its residents.

Injuries

She said: “Years ago some of our clients would not have survived their injuries.

“More and more people are now surviving thanks to medical innovations but it leaves people not the person they were before.

“Isfryn is for people who are not safe to live on their own or who cannot fit back into their family network.

“However, family and friends come to visit our clients here and it is not a hospital, we treat it as their home.”

Service users at Isfryn take part in a variety of self care, home making, community and cognitive activities designed to enhance their well-being and promote independent living.

The home is a private specialist care centre staffed by around 20 people and already provides care for two residents from within a 25 mile radius.

There will be between five and six staff working during the daytime and two at night.

Newly recruited staff will also spend time at other Tracscare homes in the area to build on their experiences.

The Isfryn manager said: “Our aim is to help service users live a happy and fulfilling life, taking part in activities of their choice and being as independent as possible with the support of their key workers.

“The home is now up and running and we expect to receive some more referrals over the next few weeks in order to be fully occupied as soon as possible.”

Tracscare was originally set up in 1983 with its first home in Swansea and has grown both organically and by acquisitions to provide care for adults across 62 homes.