Work to refurbish the Island’s dementia ward is well underway, Isle of Wight health bosses have said, with just six weeks left until it reopens.
Shackleton Ward, rated inadequate by Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspectors, was deemed ‘unfit for purpose’ and is undergoing a £200,000 refurbishment.
Almost half way through
The specialist ward is set to open in June, and is on week four of a nine week refurbishment plan.
During the refurbishment, if a patient requires specialist inpatient dementia care, and cannot be safely looked after on a regular hospital ward at St Mary’s, they will be sent elsewhere in Hampshire.
Refurb ‘a temporary solution’
Service manager for older persons’ mental health, Sarah Turtle, said the refurbishment would only be a temporary solution, as the ward still does not have access to an outdoor space. She said,
“Currently if staff want to take people outside they have to walk them downstairs, and out in to the dementia garden. This can be difficult when patients are getting distressed.”
New ward will link to outside space
Within the next two years a ward with access to the outside will be created elsewhere in the hospital, to provide a more suitable space for dementia patients who stay on the ward up to six weeks.
Sarah said:
“But two years is a long time to wait, and we needed a better solution now.”
What new ward offers
The new ward will have six beds, but will accommodate only four patients at a time. Walls have been knocked down to provide a large central lounge, in addition to male-only and female-only lounges.
Colour-coded rooms will help patients navigate their way around, and two former shower rooms will be converted into functioning wet rooms.
Rooms are being refurbished to provide a more homely feel, with new beds and cupboards and soft lighting.
This article is from the BBC’s LDRS (Local Democracy Reporter Service) scheme, which OnTheWight is taking part in. Some alterations and additions may be been made by OnTheWight. Ed
