Design
years… and anything else in between! There is no separate wing for students. They have individual rooms that are spread throughout the home so that they can get to know and interact with their older neighbours. The accommodation is free on the proviso that they commit to 30 hours of social work a week. The social work does not involve ‘care’ and is based on wellbeing and supporting residents in their daily activities, whether that means having a chat over a cup of tea or going for a walk.
Happiness and wellbeing When I asked Peter Daniels, the manager at Humanitas Deventer, if he could see any changes in the senior residents since the students moved in, he said that while there was no scientific proof, one just needs to look around to see how happy everybody is. He also noted that the young people also benefit; they start to understand the importance of living in a community.
One of the students said that before he moved to Humanitas, he would avoid older people in town and on public transport, whereas now he has started to value the company of elderly people, the many stories they can share and the history and experience they can impart. Daniels said that we should focus our design intent on wellbeing as, in his opinion, this is what senior living should be about; happiness and wellbeing at the end of your life. He said that there are some care homes in the Netherlands that are much newer and brighter, yet there is still a waiting list to move into
Most care homes in the UK may look architecturally different, but many operators and developers still adhere to the concepts they have delivered for the past 20 years or so
Humanitas because of the environment and the community it provides. One of the most striking things that Humanitas’s Peter Daniels said was that instead of following the rules, we should make our own. This may seem like a flippant statement, but in witnessing these different approaches to senior living and care in other parts of Europe it struck a chord and made me consider whether we have become too reticent to challenge the accepted norms in the UK. Most care homes in the UK may look architecturally different, but many operators and developers still adhere to the concepts they have delivered for the past 20 years or so. In many care homes, as well as children’s developments, our focus has been on reducing risk rather than creating an environment for happy people. Perhaps it is time to challenge our risk averse mindsets?
A regular rhythm
That spirit of challenging the norms can clearly be seen at another care development in the Netherlands, the Hogeweyk care village in Weesp. It is immediately clear that this care home is
very different to those we see in the UK. While it is a nursing home for people with severe dementia, at no stage during our three hour visit did it feel like a nursing home.
For a start, there were plenty of people walking around independently and it was almost impossible to distinguish whether they were residents, workers or visitors. Doors in Hogeweyk are left unlocked and sometimes wide open, minimising the frustration and irritation that is often symptomatic for people living with dementia. Incredibly, even the main door to access the care village remains unlocked! The focus at Hogeweyk is on
normality, a simple concept perhaps, but a really huge challenge to maintain in a care or nursing home setting. Eloy van Hal, project manager for the realisation of Hogeweyk and senior consultant at Be (part of the Vivium care group), told us that keeping the doors open, having fresh air and encouraging people to leave their rooms and participate in daily life keeps residents in better physical and mental condition.
Some 24 years ago, there was a nursing
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January 2019 •
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