Work starts on £7.5million specialist dementia care home

BUILDING work has started on a £7.5million specialist care home for people living with dementia.

The village-style home replaces Woodside on Spinney Hill in Warwick, which stood on the same site until it was demolished last year.

It will be run by Warwickshire-based charity, WCS Care, and when work is completed in September next year it will be home to 72 older people and people with dementia.

The Mayor of Warwick, Cllr Stephen Cross, and district councillor Richard Edgington were among the guests at a recent ground-breaking ceremony.

The new home will include family-scale households for up to seven people, a spa, pamper salon, cinema, shop, café, and fully-staffed, traditional launderette, as well as table tennis and companion cycling for two.

It will feature the latest technology, including circadian rhythm lighting and night-time acoustic monitoring to help ensure a good night’s sleep.

Smart phone apps connected to mobile care monitoring will mean carers spend more time with residents. It will also linked to a Relatives’ Gateway, where people can check and interact with their loved one’s care 24-hours a day, wherever they are.

Christine Asbury, chief executive of the not-for-profit WCS Care, said: "The excitement is building as construction work begins on our inspirational new home in Warwick, which will feature many of the ideas and approaches that have already had a positive impact on health and wellbeing in our other homes.

"Driven by our ambition to make every day well lived for residents, we’re creating a home that will push the boundaries of innovation and creativity, while at the same time providing a homely, family environment, supported by high quality care around the clock."