Hospital dementia care unit opens in Bradford

Published: 16-Dec-2015

£2.5m purpose-built dementia-friendly ward unveiled at Lynfield Mount Hospital

Patients have moved into a purpose-built dementia care unit at Bradford’s Lynfield Mount Hospital.

The world-class £2.5m facility will house the existing 16 patients from the 19-bed Ward 24 at Airedale General Hospital and a further six patients from around the area.

It has been created at the site of the former Duchy Court over-65s mental health unit, which has been transferred to another venue.

Circular in shape, the building has been designed so that patients do not get lost when wandering, with wide corridors so that staff can assist them as the move around the interiors.

Reminiscence boards are located by the door of each patient room on which family and friends can put photographs from patient's past to make them feel more at home.

Ten large murals have also been installed, featuring Bradford district sites including the Alhambra Theatre, Lister Park, and Five Rise Locks in Bingley.

And a quiet lounge is available for patients' families to relax, together with an activity room for meetings and one-to-one therapy sessions.

Additional dementia-friendly elements include en-suite bathroom doors which can fold back and fix into the wall, allowing sight of the toilet from the bed. Colours and fabric have also been selected that do not reflect or cause glare and the floor coverings have been protected to absorb noise and ensure there is clear visual contrast between floors and walls.

The patients will stay at the unit for three months until they are given a relocation package to other sites, including nursing homes. Allison Bingham, deputy director of specialist impatient services at the hospital, said: "We have even gone beyond the current regulations for this to create a 24/7 service here.

"It is a tremendously innovative unit.”

Female patient rooms are decorated in purple, while the male rooms are painted green. Each patient’s bedroom door resembles the front door of a house to make their stay more comfortable, with traditional domestic hot and cold taps used in each bathroom.

The work was carried out in conjunction with the University of Stirling’s Dementia Services Development Centre and the unit was designed by DLA FreemanWhite Healthcare.

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