Memory care
Memory care, at the size of a house
For someone living with dementia, familiarity does more good than almost any programme. A small home is not a compromise here. It is the point.
Why small helps
Fewer rooms, fewer faces, fewer things to relearn
Dementia makes new information expensive. Every new corridor, every new aide, every change of routine costs something that is already in short supply. In a house with 8 residents there is simply less to learn and less to lose: the same short walk to the same bathroom, the same person helping at breakfast, the same chair by the window.
We cannot slow the illness. Nobody can, and you should be suspicious of anyone who implies otherwise. What a small home can do is reduce the confusion that sits on top of it, and that is often the difference between an agitated day and a calm one.
- Consistent caregivers, so your mother is not reintroducing herself every shift
- A predictable rhythm to the day — meals, rest and activity at the same times
- Single-level living with short, clear routes and no long corridors to get lost in
- Calm redirection rather than correction, because arguing with a memory never wins
- Extra attention in the late afternoon, when confusion and agitation often rise
- Doors, garden gates and the kitchen managed so wandering does not become a danger
For you, not only for them
What this is like for the family
Almost every family we meet has been doing this alone for longer than they should have been.
Guilt is normal, and it is not evidence
Nearly everyone arrives convinced that moving a parent is a failure. In our experience the opposite is usually true: people who were exhausted and unsafe at home become calmer once someone else is carrying the night shift.
You will hear from us
One named person keeps you informed — a fall, a change in appetite, a difficult few days, a good week. You should not have to ring and hope somebody who knows your mother happens to answer.
Visits on your terms
Come often, come briefly, come at the time of day your parent is at their best. If a visit ends badly, that is the illness and not you, and we will talk it through with you afterwards.
Where we stop
When this is not the right place
Memory loss can reach a point where someone needs a secure unit or skilled nursing, particularly where there is behaviour that puts them or others at risk. We will tell you if we reach that point, as early as we see it coming, and we will help you find the place that fits. We would rather lose a resident than keep one we cannot properly look after.
Visit us
Talk it through with someone who has seen it before
Bring the diagnosis, or bring only the worry. You will speak to someone who can tell you what this stage usually looks like and what your options actually are.
Someone answers 8am – 8pm, seven days. Staff on-site 24 hours.