Innovative village with post office and library helps care home residents reminisce

A Falkirk care home has opened an innovative ‘village’ to help residents who are living with dementia connect with past memories.

The village concept at Bupa’s Newcarron Court Care Home is made up of a working post office, greengrocer’s, ladies’ boudoir, wildlife area, library and children’s area, all of which have been specifically designed to provide unique benefits for residents.

Angela Burns, home manager at Bupa’s Newcarron Court Care Home, is thrilled at the difference the project has already made for the residents. She said: “We are so excited by the residents’ positive reaction to the new ‘village’ features in the garden as they are such clever and simple yet effective ideas.

“The creation of the village is so important to help people living with dementia. It allows them to re-connect with past memories or recognisable social surroundings in a safe and familiar environment; features like the grocers and post office have been proven to provide cognitive stimulation which relieves any feelings of anxiety and confusion.”

Newcarron Court has striven to make the village as authentic as possible. The shops have real money that dates back to the 1900s and the staff encourage residents to go to the post office to collect their newspapers or to enjoy time relaxing in the library.

Additional features have also been added to the garden for the residents’ entertainment, including: cricket, checkers, football and a miniature railway station.

Ms Burns continued: “We wanted to create a village that was as real as we could for the residents so that they are able to reminisce and to encourage conversations. Now, the ladies have a great time trying on hats, shoes and jewellery in the boudoir and the greengrocer’s has some authentic packaging, and some that we were able to recreate.

“We always aim to provide the highest level of care and we believe the ‘village life’ setting is a fresh and innovative way in which to do this.

“We would encourage anyone interested to come along and see for themselves as I’m sure other care homes and the local community will want to view what we have done.”

The care home officially opened the village on 25 August. The project is one the first of its kind among Bupa Care Homes across the UK, with a similar village having opened at Balcarres Care Home in Dundee last year.

click here for more details or to contact Newcarron Court Care Home