Health Minister, Jim Wells, has officially opened the Slieve Patrick Suite, a new specialist care unit within Lecale Lodge Care Home, Downpatrick.
The scheme is a partnership project with the South Eastern Health and Social Care (HSC) Trust and is designed to facilitate the discharge of long stay patients to a community care setting from the Downshire Hospital.
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Health Minister Jim Wells MLA.[/caption]Lecale Lodge is a purpose built care home. It is one of two homes on a site on the outskirts of Downpatrick and provides general nursing care for thirty three patients, residential care for seventeen patients. The Quoile Suite is registered for ten dementia nursing patients.
Having provided £250,000 capital investment, Four Seasons Health Care (FSHC) have worked collaboratively with the South Eastern HSC Trust to create a 15-bed, single room specialist service, designed to provide an environment where effective and personalised care and recovery is available to people whose current needs could not be met independently in the community following resettlement from Downshire Hospital. Registered by the Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA), Slieve Patrick is now home to 13 people.
Officially opening the unit today, Heath Minister Jim Wells said: “It has been a pleasure to visit Slieve Patrick to see for myself this fantastic new service and meet with staff, who are dedicated to providing excellent care to some of the most vulnerable people in our society.
“The core ethos of the unit is recognising that each individual is unique and providing support to maximise independence, maximise recovery and reduce risk and social inclusion. It is encouraging to see there is a strong focus on promoting physical health and developing skills to boost self-esteem and transform the lives of residents.
“The Slieve Patrick unit has added a further dimension to the existing care services at the Lecale site here in Downpatrick, where dementia nursing care, continuing care for frail elderly and specialist care for younger people with physical and learning disabilities are already provided.”
Brendan Whittle, Director of Adults Services at the South Eastern HSC Trust said: “The Trust is delighted to achieve the resettlement of all long stay patients from the Downshire Hospital. This is wonderful news. Behind this fact are many personal stories as people have moved from shared dormitory accommodation to their own space. The Trust has welcomed the contribution of Four Seasons in making this a reality at Slieve Patrick, and is pleased to see how quickly residents have settled in.”
Strangford Court, the sister home on the same site provides specialist care for residential category patients with dementia and learning disability.
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Four Seasons Health Care (FSHC) is the UK’s largest independent health and social care provider and the largest provider of Nursing Home and Residential Care Services in Northern Ireland and is part of the Four Seasons Health Care Group UK.
Northern Ireland has the fastest growing elderly population in the UK and as life expectancy rises, the number of people affected by conditions associated with old age will increase dramatically.
It is estimated that the number of people living with dementia will increase from 19,000 to around 60,000 by 2051.
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