Karen Flatt, an architect at IBI Group, and specialist in mental health design, and IBI interior designer, Lynn Lindley, discuss the creation of a ‘Dementia-Friendly Care Zone’ at Croydon University Hospital, which not only raised the profile of dementia within the south London healthcare facility, but which nursing staff say is ‘a much better environment to work in – being positive, calming, and beneficial to patients’.
The number of older people being diagnosed with dementia is growing. This is a significant issue for acute hospital settings caring for the older patient group. The general ward environment is not conducive to a dementia sufferers’ needs while the patient is being treated for acute symptoms.
This is an issue that has been addressed by IBI Group and Croydon Health Services NHS Trust. Together they have created the ‘Dementia Friendly Care Zone’ at Croydon University Hospital in Thornton Heath, south London, transforming two run-down wards into a homely, comfortable space that uses key features to engage and support people with dementia.
In common with a number of hospitals around the UK, the acute wards at Croydon University Hospital (which is operated by the Croydon Health Services NHS Trust) were not originally designed to be ‘dementia-friendly’. Uniform in layout, patients found them difficult to navigate, meaning that people with memory problems often found it difficult to find their bed, leaving them confused, scared, and sometimes agitated.
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