CIVIC bosses will show how Southampton is trying to reduce bed-blocking in local hospitals when representatives from London and the south-east visit next Thursday.

About 40 delegates from the Housing Learning Improvement Network will be on a fact-finding mission to see the different types of care available for people who are not well enough to return home after hospital treatment.

They will visit Rozel Court, a council-owned sheltered scheme in Lordshill, where 15 flats have been converted into "extra care" properties to provide permanent, adapted accommodation for older people who would otherwise need to be in a residential home or be hospitalised.

An on-site care team provide meals, home care support and general day-to-day support.

The delegates will also view two "intermediate care" flats at Rozel Court, which provide temporary accommodation for tenants who need extra support for up to six weeks.

The Housing Learning Improvement Network (LIN) was set up by the Department of Health in 2002 to help health and social care professionals tackle the problem of patients staying in hospital longer than necessary.

Members include senior staff from local authorities, the NHS, housing associations and the private sector.

Councillor Paul Russell, the city's Cabinet member for housing and homes, said: "The meeting will provide an opportunity for people from other areas to learn from the success that we have enjoyed in Southampton through our extra and intermediate care properties."