DEMENTIA patients are today moving into a brand new state of the art care home in Southampton.

Bupa's 71-bed Oak Lodge nursing and residential home in Merryoak will be dedicated to those suffering from the condition. The home will also include a purpose-built day centre.

Southampton City Council gave the healthcare giant a 50-year lease on a one acre plot of land off Freemantle Common Road to build the facility.

It will buy use of 40 beds for the elderly and those with mental health problems. The home is set to create more than 70 jobs.

The scheme follows the blueprint of Bupa's 101-bed Northlands House nursing home in Westrow Road.

Bupa Care Services, which runs more than 300 care homes across the country, already employs 280 people at care homes across Southampton.