The accommodation has its own shops for the 40 tenants

The 40 self-contained flats on the �4m Willowbrook development boast their own shop, hairdresser, laundry and dining room as well as carers on hand.

There is already a waiting list for the �180-a-week self-contained apartments.

Glamorgan and Gwent Housing Association and Newport Council said the scheme was a model for future care and they hoped it would ease pressure on hospitals.

They say it gives residents the standards they deserve but also helps the NHS as tenants, with the round-the-clock care support available, are less likely to need long stays in hospital.

Tenants have a shop as a means of living independently

The local authority-run scheme, part-funded by the assembly government, comes as Wales faces a shrinking number of private care homes.

Tina James runs the extra care project for the housing association, which is in partnership with the city council. She said there was no one element which made the scheme work.

She said: "Really, it's the whole package. It's having their own home, a purpose-built building, which provides homes-for-life-standard accommodation.

"It's the care, the support services, on tap whenever they needed it. It's the fact that they have their midday meal, they also have their domestic services - the cleaning of the flat done.

"We're also looking after their social interaction because obviously, unlike sheltered housing, these extra care schemes are part of the community.

Ms James said people at risk of losing their independence were identified as possible tenants.

George Gardner is delighted with the facilities his new home offers

George Gardner was one of the first tenants at the scheme. For the previous four years he had been housebound in a one room bed-sit.

His new electric wheelchair gives him mobility and he is overwhelmed by the facilities available to him.

He said: "It was really tough going in one room with the television on. The television saved me - it was on day and night. I had no visitors, nothing, I was just cut off.

"Being here, it's a pleasure. It's really nice. I can't believe it."