Pioneering dementia care in Rochdale celebrates first anniversary

The Willows Dementia Hub, Rochdale celebrated its first anniversary on Friday 1 November.

The Willows ‘hub’ brings together health and social care to provide pioneering integrated care and support for those with Dementia in Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale (HMR).

The team at the Willows believe each and every resident has an absolute right to live their lives to the fullest, and since the doors opened in November 2018, they have worked tirelessly to create an open and supportive space for residents, staff and the local community.

The work at The Willows has highlighted the overwhelming lack of facilities in the borough for Dementia Specialists, particularly as all 18 beds were full within the first two months and the two respite beds are fully booked up well into 2020.

Over the past year staff at the hub have made a conscious effort to implement the best care possible, whilst encouraging local people to visit the care facilities and work together to develop better community relationships.

They are proud to have such a strong community hub thanks to the work they do with organisations such as Alzheimer’s Society, Rochdale Carers, Link4Life, Kenny Webber Therapies, The Hallé (amongst others) and the regular events held at their community café, which is open to all seven days a week.

As part of the pioneering design, the centre was designed using Stirling University’s ‘Standard for Dementia Design’ and the project team worked closely with Alzheimer’s UK, who provided guidance and advice. This meant they could provide both residential and day care in a high-quality, welcoming and dementia-friendly environment.

Due to this, the Willows has received borough-wide recognition for its efforts as it was nominated for both the Clinical Commissioning Group Star awards, and the Rochdale Borough Council Design Awards, which saw it receive the first ever ‘Special Commendation’ award.

Gail Whitehead the Chief Office of GP Care Services Ltd said: “Whatever the residents’ preference, we do all we can to support them by giving them the best environment possible.

“We believe it is important to actively involve residents in their own care to ensure they retain as much independence as possible.

“We also know how important it is to prioritise the emotional and spiritual needs of our residents, and their nearest and dearest.”

This is why as part of their first year, The Willows Dementia Hub have built close ties with The Calderbrook Alpacas, Mindful Music, and Rochdale Carers Choir who have all been a great support to the cause. They also work closely with Get Up and Grow, and Link4Life on the ‘Grow, Eat, Move’ project, which includes 40 weeks of gardening and exercise activities for residents and the local community.

Due to the hub's unique approach it has garnered huge support from local councillors, including the Mayor of Rochdale, Councillor Billy Sheerin. The generous funding received has enabled the hub to work on a range of different projects, including the purchase of garden furniture, which allows the residents to enjoy the lovely outside space, funding for a community allotment, thanks to Councillor Nickson, and financial support from Rochdale Council to support Social Isolation with their ‘Little GEM’ project.

Alongside the excellent horticultural therapy, art and music are at the core of the hub's offering and staff now work in partnership with the Hallé orchestra, with the help of two of the Hallé’s talented musicians, Caroline Abbot (Violin) and David Petri (Cello). The open music session is a great way to get involved with the ‘hub’, watch great live performances and have some music making fun. For those interested, the next event will run on 7 November from 2 to 4pm (no previous music experience required). 

Julie Hinks from the Alzheimer’s Society particularly enjoyed the first session with members of the Hallé Orchestra. She said: “The session at The Willows was amazing. The facilitators, David and Caroline were so great at communicating and getting a response from people.

“I teared up at least four times with some of the stories and the songs people were performing.”

Julie Saville, Registered Manager at the hub, is particularly proud of the partnership between The Village Medical Centre and The Willows Dementia.

She said: “This joint working between health and social care has enabled us to review all patient and resident medication. This simple review work produced a 30% reduction in medication usage, improving resident’s wellbeing, preventing hospital admissions and saving the NHS money.

“We are proud to run a truly unique service and, although some people may still have misconceptions about care homes, we are keen to always help dispel any myths.

“Our community open days are ideal for people to come and have a look around, meet the staff and our residents. And what can we say about our incredible staff? They are the heart of the Willows and without them we couldn’t have achieved the outstanding care of the residents.”

To find out more about The Willows Dementia Hub or to get involved, head over to their next community event, the Christmas Fayre, on Sunday 8 December.