£775,000 BOOST FOR DEMENTIA CARE IN STOCKPORT

Stockport Council in partnership with Stockport Clinical Commissioning Group has been awarded £755,000 from the Department of Health’s Dementia Grant.  This money is being used to create care environments for people with dementia that help reduce anxiety, distress and help them feel safe, which will greatly improve the quality of their lives.

This includes providing 25 Dementia Reminiscence Therapy units in care homes and a day centre.  These use software called My Life which incorporates local Stockport images, music, videos and historical information to create a personalised life-story book for each resident which helps reduce anxiety, improve quality of life and improve relationships with staff and relatives.

Other changes funded include the provision of dementia friendly furniture in 20 homes, enabling more independence; the improvement of signs and lighting, including the use of bold and tactile signs, colour coded floor zones and spaces with clear functional purposes; and improved accessibility to two gardens to make them more enjoyable for those with dementia. 

Following the changes, homes have reported a much calmer atmosphere with less agitation and a reduction in the number of falls and of admissions to hospital.

The £755,000 grant has had a warm welcome by Prospective MP Lisa Smart and Andrew Stunell MP.

Lisa Smart, Prospective MP for Hazel Grove said:

“Dementia can have crippling affects upon individuals and their families, and sadly one in three people over 65 will develop dementia in their lives.  It is therefore right that we aim to provide the many people across Stockport suffering from dementia, and their families, with the support and care they need and deserve.

“This cash is a huge step forward in that direction and I’m delighted that care homes in Bredbury, Marple and Offerton will see a direct improvement in their services as a consequence.”  

Commenting, Andrew said –

“I’m delighted to see Stockport Council and our local NHS working hand-in-hand to tackle the scourge of dementia.  Bringing health and social care together is the only way to stop people falling through the gaps, and the Coalition Government has really started to make things happen with this grant.”

The care homes benefitting from funding are listed below, sorted by Ward.