Cabinet will soon be shown the drawings for the new St. George's Rest Home, Housing Minister Nelson Bascome has revealed.

Mr. Bascome said on Wednesday that the plans for the rest home have now been completed and a presentation will be made to Cabinet shortly.

He was responding to criticism by Opposition Senate Leader Kim Swan, who asked what the plans were for renovating the rest home or building a new one.

"They have finished the drawings and once Cabinet has seen them and signed off on them the development plan will be in place," Mr. Bascome said.

"Plans for the restoration of the rest home or building a new one haven't borne fruit as yet," Sen. Swan charged during a Senate debate.

"The need is great and many seniors are not able to enjoy the surroundings that were deeded by a benefactor many years ago."

He said that he believed the rest home was now being used for commercial purposes.

Sen. Swan said the Progressive Labour Party Government could not say it was sensitive to the needs of the people because the seniors had "felt the scorn" of the Government when it raised land taxes shortly after it took power.

"A senior is a senior is a senior," he said. "This sensitive Government is the same Government that has done very little in regard to rest homes."

But Sen. Burch said: "The reason why the St. George's Rest Home is closed is because it was condemned.

"Anyone concerned about the welfare of senior citizens would not have them in a facility which is "electrically inadequate, physically inadequate and overlooking a graveyard... I can think of nothing more disrespectful to seniors".

He added: "The state of the rest homes is atrocious", adding that the UBP governments had watched St. George's Rest Home "go down the tubes" over 30 years.

"You cannot have it both ways," he said of the criticism, adding that it was impossible to "wave a magic wand" and provide a rest home overnight.

The Senator said that Government had moved on initiatives on senior citizens, including increasing the number of nurses available to visit and care for seniors in their homes and providing regional clinics which had been closed down by the UBP.

Citing deterioration and old electrical wiring, the century-old St. George's rest home was closed by the Ministry of Health in March last year and its ten residents moved to other homes around the Island.

Months later Health Minister Nelson Bascome revealed that plans were about to be presented to Cabinet for a brand new purpose-built facility providing all the comforts of home as well as on site nursing professionals.

The facility would cater to between 25 and 30 residents, he said then. He also said several sites were being looked at for the facility and renovating the current location was one of the options.

Asked for an update Mr. Bascome said he hoped for the plans to be presented to Cabinet within the next two weeks.

Government set aside $250,000 in this year's Budget for capital spending on the St. George's property.

Despite the fact that St. George's and the Sandys Rest home are not open, he added, senior citizens in need of rest homes can still be catered for within the parish council system because there are a number of vacancies.