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Community LifeYou are in: London > London Local > Hackney > Community Life > Hackney home aims to lead the way with dementia care.  Angela Rippon in the sensory room Hackney home aims to lead the way with dementia care.Monarch Court, a home for old people on the edge of Victoria Park, is reopening following a £1 million refurbishment. One floor will cater for people with dementia and has a number of special features to help them with memory difficulties. How home decoration can help residents with dementia.Carpets and walls are kept plain to avoid getting muddled by complicated patterns. Bathroom doors are bright blue as a helpful reminder. Handrails are brightly painted to stand out from the wall. Personal pictures or photos on bedroom doors remind people whose room is whose. Signs on doors use words, pictures and colour for maximum impact.ÌýÌýÌýÌý The number of elderly people suffering with dementia is increasing and care homes are being encouraged to provide specialist facilities and training to help maintain their quality of life.  Monarch Court Anchor Trust, a private nursing care provider which runs 102 homes nationally, has just opened it's latest nursing home, in East London.Ìý The building on the Hackney/Tower Hamlets boarder, was formerly an old people's home but was closed and modernised at a cost of over a million pounds. Monarch Court has an attractive location, overlooking Victoria Park, and will soon be home to around 60 elderly people.Ìý Some will have their care paid for by local authorities while others will fund their care themselves.ÌýÌýÌý  People with dementia respond well to colour prompt It was officially opened by the broadcaster Angela Rippon, whose mother suffers from dementia.Ìý She spoke movingly about the difficulties of caring for relatives with the condition and was optimistic about the facilities on offer at Monarch Court. Angela was shown a special sensory room, with lights, smells and music designed to calm and reassure distressed residents.Ìý She also saw a reminiscence room, which contains a number of objects and artifacts from the past, designed to stimulate pleasant memories.  Angela Rippon in the reminiscance room There is a growing body of knowledge about the type of care which improves the quality of life for people with dementia.Ìý One important aspect is catering.Ìý Not only is foodÌý important as a source of nutrition, but as an individual's horizons narrow, it can become a main comfort and pleasure in someone's life.Ìý Anchor Trust pays a lot of attention to making meals appetising.Ìý The three meals shown below are in fact all the same, but they're presented in different ways depending on a resident's needs.Ìý The dish in the centre is fine for someone still able to manage a knife and fork, but on the left the meal is presented for someone who can only cope with 'finger food', and on the right the food is all pureed.  Food presentation is important Residents will be moving into Monarch Court during the summer. ÌýÌý last updated: 23/05/2008 at 17:07 SEE ALSOYou are in: London > London Local > Hackney > Community Life > Hackney home aims to lead the way with dementia care. |
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