YORK now has a nursing home with specialist 24/7 care for people with complex dementia for the first time, following the opening of Wellen Court, Schoen Clinic York.
The home employs around 50 staff including dementia carers and specialists, chefs and catering staff, nurses, health care professionals and occupational therapists.
Clinical director Adam Bloor said: “We would like Wellen Court to be a hub of the community supporting residents with complex dementia and their families and carers.
“We want our service users to be as independent as possible with the flexibility to have support if they should need it. Our service users are at the heart of everything we do.”
Wellen Court supports those with complex dementia and its associated behaviours.
As well as privately funded patients, it welcomes local authority referrals to ensure its specialist care services are accessible to everyone.
Some of the facilities at Wellen Court include 20 en-suite private rooms, dining terrace, TV lounge, multi-faith areas, lift and disabled access, Wi-Fi in every room and a hairdressing salon.
The environment is designed to be dementia-friendly, including low window sills and wide-opening doors. The smallest of details have been considered, even down to dementia-friendly crockery and cutlery sourced from specialist suppliers.
Adam added: “Our service to our residents is based around what they enjoy doing. There are no set visitor times, encouraging family and friends to come and spend as much time with their loved ones as they wish including children and pets, and they can do so in the privacy of one of our multi-purpose rooms if that suits best.”