Communal Spaces
Our Stoke home features four distinct communal spaces designed to match each stage of dementia:
- The Front Lounge: a traditionally decorated, relaxing environment for rest and comfort
- The Snug: a central space featuring engaging activities
- The Conservatory: a visually stimulating retreat
- The Activities Room: a calming space with plenty of sensory activities
Our communal spaces are always changing and adapting to the needs of the people living in the home. Residents are free to move throughout the rooms as they wish, and many choose to sit with their friends, have a quick nap in a room where relaxing music is being played, or join in with the activities that are going on.
When visiting the home, you’ll notice that our residents do not spend very much of their time in their bedroom or upper-floor lounges, preferring to be amongst the people with whom they live and the staff team.
The Front Room
The quietest and most formal of our lounges, the front lounge is designed to look as homely as possible, with a traditional feel to the room to suit the people living with dementia as they regress through time. Most people who choose to sit in this room enjoy watching television or a DVD without too much distraction. There is a good stock of books and board games.
The Snug
The Snug is where most of the relationship care takes place. If you want to just chat or hang out with the staff team, this is the place to be. The kitchen, conservatory and activities room lead off this room, and the manager's study is the next room along, so it is the hub of the house and where all the staff team gravitate to.
We don’t tend to put television programmes on in this room as most of the people who choose this room are no longer able to follow them, but we do play favourite DVD's such as The Sound of Music, My Fair Lady, Mamma Mia and Dancing on Ice, which go down really well. We consistently bring out all sorts of interesting things from the activities room and encourage the people in this room to be part of running the home, from washing up to folding laundry.
The Conservatory
The bright, visually stimulating conservatory provides plenty of room to sit and relax. There’s lots to look at and familiar music is played throughout the day. The staff team bring out lots of items from the activities room, and twice a day, a group activity takes place. There’s one-to-one interaction between residents and staff throughout the day.
The Activities Room
This room is where we display most of the activity items. Designed to be visually stimulating, it's a quiet space, filled with therapeutic sounds of birdsong, the forest and the sea. We offer sensory stimulation, such as hand massage, touching of sensory materials and a host of sensory items.
This area is to ensure that people living with advanced stages of dementia are not in an overstimulating environment, as an individual living in a chaotic environment causes unnecessary tiredness and withdrawal into themselves. We focus on what each person can do, ensuring stimulation and quality of life, recognising their limited remaining abilities.
