The focus of the care home sector is becoming increasingly fixated on how it can meet the growing demand for beds and ensure the supply coming through is fit for purpose.
Estimates suggest that by 2035, there will be a shortfall of 58,000 beds across the sector, with further indications that the projected growth in the UK’s older population will mean thatby 2050 a further 350,000 older people will potentially need a care bed.
The need for residential and specialist care is, therefore acuteand constantly developing. In this piece, we take a look into the care on offer at Signature at Reigate Grange, how its facilities provide holistic care to meet the needs of its residents, and why its facilities are integral to achieving this aim.
Reigate Grange, in Surrey, forms part of Signature Senior Lifestyle’s family of 36 luxury care homes across London and the southeast, which the group says works to build care, compassion and companionship with around 2,000 residents and their loved ones and create special communities.
One of the key ways it strives to meet residents’ needs is bygiving them space; it offers 87 luxury studio, 1-bedroom and 2-bedroom apartments, as opposed to industry standard ‘rooms’.
Michelle Gray, General Manager, at Reigate Grange, revealed to London Post that the provision of extra space caters both for the logistics of nursing and dementia care to residents but also for their lifestyle choices.
Michelle said: “We are determined to ensure we provide true peace of mind, safety and security for residents and their loved ones through specialist care.
“At Reigate Grange, we fundamentally believe that in order todeliver care tailored to the individual, the layout of the home, therefore, needs to be fit for a number of purposes. For example, Reigate Grange has a mix of residents ranging from those who are here for residential purposes to those requiring specialist care.
“Not every resident is the same, and that is why our rooms are deliberately larger. Firstly, to ensure they can make their home with us, including their own furniture and pets. Secondly, for those residents with specific care needs, we also need to account for space for care teams to carry out their work, including the use of equipment to safely move and handle them.
“Without space, the job becomes increasingly difficult, and it is the resident whose care would suffer.”
One key part of specialist care in today’s care homes is how they support dementia residents, with research from the Alzheimer’s Society showing that in 2019, there were more than 850,000 people with dementia in the UK; representing 1 in every 14 of the population aged 65 years and over.
Sadly, this is a growing trend which, in 2040, could see more than 1.5 million people with dementia in the UK at the current rate of prevalence.
At Reigate Grange, around one-third of its residents live with dementia.
Michele Saunders, Head of Dementia at Signature Senior Lifestyles, highlighted that the narrative around dementia care needs to shift from ‘dementia suffering’ to ‘dementia supporting’.
Michele said: “Given the prevalence of dementia, we passionately believe in eradicating the stigma of dementia and focusing on positive steps to support dementia residents, their relatives and loved ones.
“Reigate Grange does so through the My Life Dementia Pathway, our five-year strategy which bids to create an innovative, warm and welcoming dementia community and does so by providing a comprehensive, 360-focus on five key areas.
“We support dementia residents with information on their life with dementia, their diagnosis, supporting their life, helping them to live a fulfilling life as independently as possible for as long as possible, and finally supporting them at the end of their life.”
The care team at Reigate Grange are not the only one who hasa role to play in dementia care under this strategy. Exceeding the sector-standard approach, the care home revealed that its chefs are upskilled in the understanding of how dementia affects nutrition and hydration, learning to create appetising meals which take into account all the senses.
All team members at the home are mandated to completedementia training under the strategy. Crucially, the programme seeks to understand the perspective of a person living with dementia through a practical immersion workshop to gain a first-hand understanding of the daily experiences of those living with dementia.
The finer detail of its furnishings has also been considered as part of this comprehensive strategy, including how the home utilises both bright and contrasting coloured furniture to enable residents to navigate around their environment with ease and promote safer mobility.
This focus on facilities for specialist care extends to Reigate Grange’s amenities which bely a typical care home setting and would not look out of place in a luxury hotel.
It boasts ‘Milligan’s Café’, as well as a restaurant, a bistro and a private dining room, which provide a range of options to encourage residents to engage with the home’s food offering. An in–house spa and salon support residents both physically and emotionally, with an activity room and in-house cinema integrated into the home’s dedicated activities programme.
Skills for Care highlights that the provision of activity in a social care setting has many positive impacts on the health and wellbeing of people who need care and support.
Michelle Gray, General Manager at Reigate Grange,highlighted the importance of marrying facilities and activities for fully-rounded specialist care.
They said: “There is no secret that the quality of activities underpins a resident’s wellbeing in a care home setting.
“That is why homes need to maximise their facilities and why Reigate Grange’s are extensive in order to meet a number of different purposes. Activities are designed to keep residents physically and mentally active, to overcome loneliness, and improve wellbeing and even reduce the rate of falls.”
