A DATE has still not been set for the opening of the £3 million Daisy unit in Devizes for people with severe learning difficulties.

Building work at the state of the art complex at Green Lane, which should have opened last summer, appears to have finished but this week the Wiltshire Clinical Commissioning Group said no patients had yet moved in.

The project, which is a joint one between the clinical commissioning group and Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust, was set up in the wake of the Winterbourne Grove neglect and abuse scandal.

But Simone Blake, who was affected by the conditions at Winterbourne Grove, is still living in a hospital in Norfolk far away from her parents in Devizes as there has been a wrangle over whether the new unit should be called a care home or a hospital.

In December the two authorities responsible for the Daisy Unit issued a statement which said: "We are saddened and disappointed...the Daisy provides a highly supportive, person-focussed home environment for people returning to Wiltshire from out-of-area placements, or for people who need additional specialist support, so they can live a fulfilled and meaningful life within their local community and close to friends and family."

They apologised for the delay and said they hoped the unit would be open before Christmas.

But this week a spokesman for the clinical commissioning group confirmed the unit was not yet open but said the clients were expected very soon and would definitely be there by the end of January.