New dementia unit opened at Carlisle clinic

A new dementia assessment unit has opened in Carlisle today. The £2.6 million Ruskin Unit at the Carleton Clinic has been designed to provide a calm and safe environment for people with dementia.
Carlisle MP John Stevenson performed the official opening this afternoon with Claire Molloy, the new chief executive of Cumbria Partnership NHS Foundation Trust and the trust’s chair Mike Taylor.

The new unit has 15 en-suite bedrooms and has been designed to create a welcoming environment aimed at reducing the stigma associated with mental ill-health. Features designed to aid people with dementia – such as memory boxes – have also been incorporated.

Colours and themes have been used to distinguish rooms and help residents navigate their way around, and the unit has no ‘dead end’ corridors, to help reduce confusion.

Health bosses hope that the improvements will lead to a shorter stay in the unit for patients, reduce the need for medication and improve complex behaviour associated with dementia.

The major investment is said to help the county tackle a so-called ‘dementia timebomb’. Cases are predicted to rise dramatically in the coming years, with Cumbria among the worst hit because of its high population of elderly people. There are estimates that by 2021 around 10,000 people in the county will be living with dementia.

Valerie Provan, a nurse consultant in old age psychiatry for Cumbria Partnership, said the new unit will have an enclosed external courtyard and garden spaces, social spaces that provide a comfortable and dignified environment for meeting relatives and friends, and activity spaces to support independence in daily activities where possible. The activity spaces are designed to help patients maintain their skills and abilities.

“With the number of people with dementia set to keep rising, the new unit will really help the people of Carlisle and surrounding areas,” she said.

The new unit will also encourage integrated working with a co-located Memory Service and partner organisations such as Age UK, the Alzheimer’s Society and Cumbria County Council’s Adult Social Care.