Taking Good Care Franklyn Care is at the forefront of a revolution in attitudes towards dementia
ementia is a subject many of us shy away from, but we ignore it at our peril. According to NHS statistics, one in 14 people over the age of 65 – and 1 in 6 over-80s – are affected by the condition. By 2025 it’s estimated there will be more than 1 million people with dementia in the UK. Some of us also have outdated – and needlessly pessimistic – ideas about what care homes can achieve. Attitudes and practices have changed hugely over the last couple of decades. The best care facilities nowadays couldn’t be more different from the depressing stereotypes we grew up with. Franklyn Care is an excellent example of a forward-looking organisation that is championing a positive, enlightened approach towards dementia care in the four care homes that they run here in the North East: Hillcrest in Catterick Garrison, The Gatehouse in Harrogate, Kirkwood in Ilkley and Stobars Hall in Kirkby Stephen.
AIMING HIGH Suzanne McPadden is Franklyn Care’s Operations Manager, and there’s no doubting her passionate commitment to providing the very highest standards of care and support for Franklyn Care residents. “Dementia can often mean that someone isn’t safe to live at home on their own,” she says, “but we’re keen to get away from the negative idea that they ‘have’ to go into a home. We aim to create an experience so positive that people actively want to come and live with us. Which would you rather do: sit at home and be totally bored, or be part of a community, make friends and have access to a wide range of exciting activities? I know which I would prefer! “Our philosophy is that dementia shouldn’t be allowed to get in the way of people making their own choices and living their lives with independence and dignity.”
Dales Life | SPRING 2021 |
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