News
RMBI care homes: for today, tomorrow and the future
7 June 2010
Ongoing development of RMBI Homes is essential to ensure that the buildings and the Home environment meet legislative standards and the changing needs of older people, especially as the average age of people living in RMBI Homes is 90 years old.
Below is a summary of just some of the works that is currently taking place.
Fire risk reduction works
Fire risk reduction works are being carried out in all RMBI Homes to comply with new legislative guidance and ensure the utmost safety of the people living and working in the Home.
New lifts
Many of our older Homes were built with only one lift. However, as the frailty of our residents increase, their reliance on lifts is total. New lifts have been installed so that a Home has more than one lift, which helps to ensure that residents can still move about the Home freely if one lift is out of use.
Additional works
Some RMBI Homes are to be reorganised to improve the care provisions at the Home; for example the dementia wing at Connaught Court, York is to be moved to the ground floor so that the residents with dementia can access the sensory garden more easily, which will help to stimulate their activity.
A previously unused section of the Home at Albert Edward Prince of Wales Court, Mid Glamorgan has been refurbished to provide 10 bedrooms with ensuite facilities in the form of wet rooms. In addition the lounge, dining room and kitchen areas have also been refurbished. A new dementia support unit is also being built at the Home which will have the capacity for 10 residents.
Ceiling hoists are proving to be an important piece of equipment in many RMBI Homes. They enable people with limited mobility to be moved from one location to another with ease and in comfort. For example the newly built Home Scarbrough Court included 20 ceiling hoists in its nursing wing. Other Homes have benefitted from the installation of ceiling hoists, many with the help of their Association of Friends group who have funded the cost of the hoists and installation.
Numerous smaller projects have included an extended dining room at Ecclesholme, Manchester and Shannon Court, Surrey had their cramped laundry room rebuilt and a new wing built. The Shannon Court Davis Wing which forms part of the Home's dementia support unit has had an extension to its lounge, providing a more comfortable environment for residents to sit and relax. The lounge will also be used by the Province of Surrey to hold its monthly Lodge meetings.
Reception areas at a number of Homes, for example Lord Harris Court, Berkshire and Ecclesholme, Manchester have been upgraded to form more of a consistent corporate image; this has set the standard for finishes at Homes that are yet to be upgraded. In future years the RMBI corporate image will progress from the reception areas into the remaining public areas of the Homes.
