The three Eliza Purton Home residents are in charge of developing the aged care home’s brand new wine bar, which they say will add a social side to the facility.

‘‘And I won’t have to keep my wine in my room any longer,’’ Mr Applebee said.

The residents, with the help of Island Care social care manager Sue Atkinson, have spent about a month coming up with ideas for the bar that will ‘‘sell everything that a hotel does’’.

Mr Applebee said he was listening to the radio when he first heard Mrs Atkinson mention the idea soon after she was appointed to her role.

The 87-year-old met Mrs Atkinson a few days later and was named project manager of the development.

With the help of fellow home residents, Mrs Aitken and Mr Delaney, the perfect room has been found for the bar and a meeting with a builder is scheduled for tomorrow so the residents can discuss their plans to redesign the Family Lounge.

Plans include blocking off one door to allow for a long bar to be installed and turning a window into a double sliding doors to allow access to the proposed beer garden – or outdoor courtyard.

Mrs Aitken and Mr Delaney have both had experience working in bars.

Mrs Aitken said she had to scruff a man one night while at work and ‘‘throw them out on the footpath’’ for causing trouble, but she is sure that won’t happen at Eliza Purton.

‘‘I think they’ll all behave themselves very well and be very pleased to have a bar,’’ she said.

The bar will be run by volunteers and open to staff, residents, family and friends three afternoons a week.

A July opening has been set

‘‘Our intentions is to get people together and have a bit of a talk to each other,’’ Mr Applebee said.

‘‘We need people to mix and mingle and this is one way of it.’’

Mr Applebee said a competition would be held to find a name for the bar, with his suggestion being The Friendship Bar.

The wine bar idea follows similar developments in aged care and palliative care homes in Europe.

 Email: mdadson@fairfaxmedia.com.au.

Twitter: @ManikaDadson