Breaking down barriers between staff and residents
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Breaking down barriers between staff and residents

This week we were privileged to be invited to visit a new state-of-the art dementia unit at the Nightingale care home in South West London. The Wohl Wing was designed in partnership with Bradford University and looks every bit as warm and inviting as your own home – if you too had a handy team of experts to take care of the cooking, cleaning and childcare. Opened in August 2011, every aspect of the ward – from the carpets to the loo seats – has been designed with dementia in mind. The ‘reminiscence’ cabinets, which display personal mementos outside each bedroom door so residents can easily spot their own room, are a particularly nice touch. It was truly inspiring to see the extent to which they’re breaking down traditional staff/resident barriers by abandoning staff uniforms and specified eating areas so that residents and staff can mingle freely as equals. Nightingale’s exemplary approach sets the standard for treating patients as people, and is a welcome addition to our portfolio of models for keeping patients with dementia out of hospital. http://www.nightingale.org.uk/what-we-do/dementia-care.php

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