iPERSONALLY
DEMENTIA CARE SERVICE
PRESS RELEASE
April 26, 2010.
CHICKENS FIRST IN AS PIONEERING SOUTHPORT DEMENTIA CARE HOME MOVE STARTS.
The big move is on as Phase One of the UK’s most advanced dementia care facility, the iPersonally Memory Centre at Birch Abbey, Southport, is completed – and the first in will be a brood of chickens.
The £5 million Alexandra Road UK
The Birch Abbey team will start to move clients from the old building to the new purpose-built facility at the end of April, and once everybody has been installed the original building will be demolished and replaced by a second new structure, providing more beds, plus offices and admin.
“The first residents will actually be several chickens – they’re an important part of our community, and a clear illustration of the approach we’ll be taking at the new Birch Abbey and which was pioneered and developed at the original Birch Abbey,” said Dan Lingard, chief executive.
“We may have technology and facilities never before seen in a UK
“Getting people with dementia using their minds and muscles – even in seemingly small ways – can have a massively positive effect.
“We’re creating a ‘living sensory garden’ – the chickens draw residents out into the garden, they provide a talking point; what’s more, our residents collect the eggs, make cakes or biscuits and talk about what they’re doing amongst themselves and to their family members providing valuable mental stimulus.
“Our new and expanded Birch Abbey will be a revolution in care services. To us it just felt right that Southport with its long tradition as a caring community should lead this revolution and the birth of a new era in care.
“Birch Abbey currently has accommodation for 18 clients, but without having to close our doors, we are completely rebuilding so that we will be able to accommodate 60 clients, and rather than simply gearing it to provide basic food, hygiene and life care for clients, we have designed in - from scratch - technology, accommodation, entertainment, social interaction and a broad range of care services and features that have never been seen together under one roof in the care industry.
“But, crucially, this is not just about a building – it is about an attitude to dementia care, service and support.”
At the heart of iPersonally is the belief that technology must be better harnessed to support people with dementia, their carers and wider support network.
Dan Lingard is a former software developer working with IBM and the BBC. He says much-misunderstood dementia needs to be fought, and people with the condition, and their family and friends, supported and inspired rather than simply have their basic needs attended to.
Ends
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