WORK has started on a new £2.9m nursing home in Winchester to ease the shortage of beds for the elderly.

Hampshire County Council is building the 30-bed home at its Westholme complex in Harestock Road. It is already the site of an existing home.

This artist's impression shows how the finished building will look when completed in 2006.

The new home is the eighth of ten to be built by the council, as part of a £60m partnership with the NHS to provide 500 nursing home beds across the county. It is seen as a crucial way of combating bed blocking in hospitals.

Elderly people occupy beds because there is nowhere for them to go.

The new home will offer a range of care for residents, ranging from those with general nursing needs to people with dementia who suffer from physical frailty.

On completion of the new nursing home, the existing residential home will be refurbished at an additional cost of £1.2m.

County Council leader Ken Thornber said: "It's very exciting to see work starting on site at Westholme.

"I know that older people in the area and their families will greatly welcome these beds, which will offer them more security and choice in meeting their care needs as they grow older and less able to care for themselves."

Chris Evennett, chief executive of Winchester and Eastleigh Healthcare NHS Trust and Mid Hampshire Primary Care Trust, said: "We are delighted at the prospect of this new facility. Good quality nursing homes play an important part in looking after our older people."