Barchester care home hits national press

Barchester News
01/10/2008
Care home receives strong praise in national newspaper for the stimulating environment it offers to people living with dementia.

A Barchester care home has received huge praise in a national newspaper for the impressive levels of care it provides to residents living with dementia.

Writing for the Daily Mail, Bel Mooney said she had been "privileged to spend a day" at St Thomas' care home in Basingstoke, where "lives are cherished" and "the dignity of every single resident" is nurtured.

Ms Mooney even admitted she had been somewhat fearful of going into a care home to see for herself the levels of care on offer to people living with dementia - but having seen the Barchester home's Memory Lane community at first-hand she spoke with glowing praise of her time with staff and residents.

The journalist said: "The homely atmosphere within this caring place, the warmth I carried away with me, the attention given to the feelings and the dignity of every single resident were all evidence of value placed on the quality of life of those who the rest of us tend to forget."

She continued: "Being with the residents for that day was neither frightening nor depressing, as I'd feared. On the contrary, it was enlarging."

Ms Mooney emphasised the impressive range of facilities and variety of activities on offer to residents in the Hampshire home, which include attractive gardens and other stimulating features such as a sewing machine, a kitchen area, knick-knacks, trinkets, music, dolls - not to mention the impressively high standard of meals which are cooked by a "brilliant, dedicated chef" and displayed on a menu in a leather-bound folder, just as you might find in a "classy restaurant".

The attitudes of staff, Ms Mooney said, were "a revelation" - with a clear emphasis on enabling residents to live a fulfilling life as opposed to a mere existence. Describing her first impression of the care home, the journalist likened the environment to a thriving family home, full of stimulating objects.

Ms Mooney concluded her account with the impassioned statement that no one should be satisfied until the levels of care she was able to witness at Barchester St Thomas' care home are made universally available.

St Thomas' care home in Basingstoke is a sympathetically-converted Victorian house set in beautiful gardens on the outskirts of the town centre.

The home boasts a highly-qualified team which aims to provide a stimulating environment for people living with dementia.

Please click here to find a care home for elderly care.