AS part of Dementia Action Week, LiveWire is encouraging residents with dementia to visit the newly refurbished Great Sankey Neighbourhood hub, to tour the new community facility designed specifically to support people with dementia.
LiveWire is supporting the Alzheimer’s Society’s Dementia Action Week, which runs from 21 – 27 May, in solidarity with those people across the country suffering from the condition and their families.
One in three people over the age of 65 will develop dementia and the Action Week campaign is an opportunity to make a positive difference to the lives of people with dementia.
When residents visit the new community facility, they will find that the facility has been designed to meet leading dementia-friendly standards throughout, creating a safe and welcoming environment for people living with the condition.
The Dementia-friendly features include free-flowing reception pods and library, fully accessible toilets, natural and artificial lighting, clear signage and carefully selected floor finishes. Colour schemes have been carefully selected, including contrasts between walls, floors and doors, to create a comfortable physical environment for those with dementia.
Leading an active lifestyle provides a real boost to physical and mental wellbeing. This applies to people living with dementia too. Getting active can improve the quality of life for people in all stages of the condition. The hub in Great Sankey has a new state-of-the-art fitness suite including a selection of easy-to-use kit enabling those with alzheimer’s to stay physically active.
And LiveWire staff have received special training in order to raise awareness of dementia and the impact it can have on people, their family and friends.
The hub is aiming to be the first public building to gain the University of Stirling’s Dementia Services Development Centre (DSDC) Gold Award for its dementia-friendly architecture, design and facilities.
LiveWire’s Managing Director, Emma Hutchinson, said: “We are incredibly proud to launch this new, thriving neighbourhood hub with so many accessible leisure, library and health services all under one roof. It’s an incredible step forward in so many ways. We’re proud that this is the first public wellbeing centre in the area with dementia friendly elements at the very front and centre of its construction and design.
“It’s important to remember that people with dementia can – and want to – remain physically active, and while most leisure centres facilitate for those with physical disablements, we also needed to design facilities that allow for cognitive impairments.
“Taking the time to understand dementia friendliness was key from the very beginning of this project. We wanted this to be regarded as one of the most dementia-friendly community facilities in the UK so, from the first stages of the design process, we considered all aspects of the customer experience from lighting and layout to signage and colour scheme.
“As our ageing population increases, so will the need for accessible, dementia-friendly environments and we’re determined to lead the way in designing and building facilities that acknowledge this challenge.”
Warrington Borough Council’s executive board member for leisure and community, Cllr Tony Higgins, said: “The new Great Sankey Neighbourhood Hub is a fantastic facility, with first-class dementia-friendly features. We have worked hard create an accessible, welcoming environment, which fully meets the needs of people with the condition.
“Dementia Action Week is the perfect time for people to come down to the hub, meet the team and find out more about what’s on offer. Hopefully, it will encourage many more people with dementia to use the facility regularly, get active and make a real positive difference to their lives.”
The new Great Sankey Neighbourhood hub has been constructed by BAM, and supported with funding from Warrington Borough Council, NHS England, Sport England, Football Foundation and Lawn Tennis Association.
For more information about the facility or for membership enquiries visit – https://www.greatsankeyneighbourhoodhub.co.uk/
LiveWire is organising a number of activities at various LiveWire facilities during Dementia Action Week, including a Reminiscence Session at Warrington Library on Monday 21 May from 10am to 11:30am.
The Reminiscence Session is a great opportunity for residents to see old photographs of Warrington’s hospitals in bygone years, and a chance to handle objects from the museum. This session is an opportunity for attendees to reminisce about Warrington’s local history, in-particular the health service, to tie in with the 70th anniversary of the National Health Service on 7th July 2018.
Residents are also invited to attend one of LiveWire’s free health walks, which take place throughout the week. These include:
• Tuesday 22 May from Broomfields Leisure Centre, from noon to 13:00pm.
• Wednesday 23 May from Padgate Library, from 10:00am to 11:00am.
• Wednesday 23 May from the Ferry Tavern car park in Penketh, from 11:00am to noon.
For a timetable of LiveWire walks visit the Lifestyle section of the LiveWire website – https://livewirewarrington.co.uk/lifestyle/health-walks
