Communal Rooms
Our communal rooms have been designed to suit the different stages of dementia. Some are calm and quiet, and others are more vibrant spaces where our activities take place. We understand that group activities aren't for everyone, and our different rooms help to ensure that every resident’s unique preferences are met.
Our Woolwell home features five distinct communal spaces designed to suit every stage of dementia:
- The Front Lounge: a quiet, homely environment for rest and comfort
- The Meaningful Occupation Lounge: the hub of the house where most of our activities occur
- The Garden Room: a peaceful retreat with a beautiful view of the main garden
- The Upper Lounge: a calm space, often used first thing in the morning and during the evening
- The Bungalow: a detached building used for staff training and hosting themed events
Many people stay in their favourite room for most of the day, but others choose to move to different rooms, for example, to enjoy a particular film, to listen to or sing along to live music from our various visiting musicians, to enjoy some arts and crafts or just to help with the washing up!
The Front Lounge
The quietest and most formal of our communal rooms, the Front Lounge has a traditional, homely feel and is designed to look like most elderly people's lounges at home. Most people who choose to sit in this room enjoy watching television without too much distraction. There’s Netflix and a good choice of DVD's. We try not to watch 'normal' TV as the adverts can cause confusion. There is also a good stock of books and board games.
The Meaningful Occupation Lounge
The hub of the house, the Meaningful Occupation Lounge, is the place to be if you want to chat or hang out with the staff team. Although it isn’t a quiet space, we have created an area specially for those who just like to sit and people-watch. It’s a place for laughter, fun and plenty of silliness!
This room is where most of the activities take place, and there are dedicated areas for doll therapy, pet therapy, arts and crafts (with additional storage areas for cognitive therapy), music therapy, reminiscence, with lots of dressing up/beauty treatments, and so much more.
A key feature of this room is the large kitchenette and snack bar where residents can help themselves to a range of healthy snacks throughout the day. We encourage people living in the home to focus on the things that they still enjoy, like washing up, sweeping floors, sorting clothes and dusting. We try hard to give our residents the opportunity to help our staff team with productive tasks, helping to foster a sense of purpose and well-being. Our staff are always generous with their hugs and compliments.
The Garden Room
The peaceful Garden Room is designed to be visually stimulating and is filled with a selection of interesting objects, including light therapy and sensory items. It has the best view of the main garden and direct access to the patio and lower garden.
Here, we display sensory pictures, such as fish or rainforest images, accompanied by calming music, often from popular Disney musicals.
One of the Quality of Life staff team is based in this room, and you will often see them offering hand massages, stroking an individual's face with a large blusher brush, looking at reminiscence photograph books together, exploring a light show and touching sensory items.
Although this room is designed for people living in their later/advanced stages, many of the residents enjoy the tranquillity of the space; it’s also the perfect spot for a quiet read.
The Upper Lounge
Located on the first floor, this room is predominantly used first thing in the morning and during the late afternoon and evening.
Waking up in the morning can be the most disorienting time for a person living with dementia, so we encourage people to wake up slowly and begin their day in a calm, quiet space. This normally starts with putting on your dressing gown, sitting in this room and having a cup of tea and a bit of toast.
We like to slow down before going to bed, and the Upper Lounge offers the perfect atmosphere to relax and unwind. During the night, one of the night staff team is permanently based here, so if someone wakes up and struggles to go back to sleep, they can have a cup of tea and a snack with the company of a member of staff.
The Bungalow is used for staff training at the Wisteria group of homes. It also has 3 small offices; one used by Leanne, our compliance manager, one as a meeting room and one as a small training room.
When talking to residents, we refer to the Bungalow as the ‘Cafe next door’. The staff team can easily close all of the office doors and change the main room into a themed cafe such as 'Berts Fish and Chip shop', ' Beryl's Tea Shop', or the 'Ice Cream Parlour'. We regularly host themed parties at Woolwell, either in the main building or the Bungalow
You are welcome to use this room for a quiet, private family party or get-together. Please contact Jade, our Quality of Life Manager.
