Brand New Centre for People with Dementia
June 21st 2010
A brand new centre has opened in Southampton for people with dementia.
The Oak Lodge Support and Well-being Centre in Bitterne is open six days a week and provides day care and support for people with varying degrees of dementia.
Oak Lodge is open to residents from the east of the city and is run by not-for-profit social enterprise care provider SCA Group on behalf of Southampton City Council. It can provide support for up to 20 people a day and caters for people with more advanced dementia on two days of the week.
The centre, in Freemantle Common Road, is attached to a purpose-built, brand new residential home and has bright new facilities, including a spacious and comfortable lounge and modern kitchen area. It replaces the former Wavell Support and Well-being Centre in Bitterne.
Anyone interested in accessing the service can do so following assessment by Southampton City Council.
Manager Tracy Katterns said the centre provides both a day out for service users and respite for those who look after them.
"We are a modern centre that treats people with dignity and respect," she said. "The centre gives people who are isolated a chance to come out and socialise and to be stimulated and engaged, as well as continuity and consistency in their lives. At the same time it gives their carers some much-needed time off.
"Service users are picked up from home by the SCA minibuses, given lunch and dropped back at home later on, so everything is organised for them."
Pictured below, Oak Lodge Lounge and Dining area, and Tracy Katterns in the kitchen area.
