A REVOLUTIONARY new Limerick care facility for people with dementia will feature in the Christmas special of the Brennan brothers’ ‘At Your Service To the Rescue’ television show.
The new facility in Bruff is the brainchild of the CareBright Community and it is Ireland’s first purpose-built community for those living with dementia.
In this year’s Christmas special John and Francis Brennan are called in to fit out and furnish the building in time for the centre’s open day.
The Bruff community facility takes a new approach to living with dementia.
The ‘village’ comprises of three bungalows, each containing six private living spaces and gardens. In each house there is a communal sitting room, kitchen and a snug “nook” area.
There is also a large kitchen garden, sensory and remembrance gardens and outdoor seating areas.
It also features a community hub building with a 40-seat restaurant, hairdressing salon, consultation rooms, offices, a small gym and spa. These facilities will be available to both the residents and to the local community.
Carebright chairperson Liz Early explained that the Hub is “a first and run on a completely household model.
“Residents will be living in a house with six people, which, while it is different from living with a family of six, is not life in a huge facility. There is a way more homely feeling”.
She said that at the root of the ethos of the Hub is the fact that people with dementia do best of they can take part in daily activities and have a life that’s as close as possible to the life they lived beforehand.
“With the best will in the world, people with dementia lose a lot of their independence if other people do everything for them. They often need support because they may lose the focus of looking after themselves.
“The idea in the Hub is that if people were gardening at home, they can still tend their own garden, they can still walk, go outdoors, whatever they are able and want to enjoy but we provide a safe environment where they are looked after to do that”.
Upwards of thirty people will be employed when the facility.
At Your Service To The Rescue will reveal if they’re successful when the show broadcasts on RTE One on this Thursday, December 28 at 9.30pm.
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