A specialist neurological care provider which has supported people for over 25 years is moving into dementia care with the opening of a dedicated unit on its site.
Chase Park Neuro Centre has opened The Villa, an 11-bed residential dementia care facility, as the latest phase of investment in its offering to people with neurological conditions from across the North of England.
The Villa has been repurposed as a dedicated dementia unit, having previously been a nursing suite on the site in Whickham, near Newcastle, with the first admissions expected in July.
Recruitment is ongoing for new dementia care and therapy staff to add to its 90-strong team, with the addition of Paul Smith as Chase Park operations director a particularly significant move in helping to shape its dementia provision.
Paul has previously held leadership roles in dementia and mental health for a number of the UK’s main care providers, and also sits on the steering panel of the Royal College of Nursing’s older people’s forum.
Jane Webber, Registered Manager and Paul Smith, Director of Operations
Dr Niraj Brahmabhatt, owner and director of Chase Park, which has 60 neurorehab beds in addition to its new dementia Villa, says the move into dedicated dementia care is the latest phase of progress for the site, with significant investment being made since his acquisition in 2016.
“This is a big step for us and our dementia care will be based on the same high quality, bespoke approach we have adopted into our neurorehab. We have our rehabilitation and step-down care, which are very established, and excellent facilities on site, so this is the next phase of our development,” he says.
“We decided to convert the bottom floor of an existing nursing suite, which now has 11 bedrooms which are suitable for dementia care. We have had a number of young dementia clients in our service previously, so we are building further on what we can offer in specialist care.
“It feels very homely, with large rooms with wet rooms. Some rooms are traditional and some are more modern.
“We have the option of expanding into the upper floor, and may look at that for other categories of care, but for now we are concentrating on the initial 11 dementia beds.”
The expansion into dementia care is underpinned by the creation of a specialist team, with Paul Smith’s expertise in the field helping Chase Park to build its reputation.
“Paul is a specialist in nursing and dementia care, he has a lot of experience in developing specialist care services, so he has joined us at a very important time,” says Dr Brahmabhatt.
“We can now offer young and older dementia care, and have got our management, therapy and care team largely in place. We’ve recruited a number of new staff with some more to come, so we have the facilities, experience and people to support this.”
The opening of The Villa adds further to the increasing provision on Chase Park’s site, which enjoys a tranquil setting amidst expansive grounds and Feng Shui Japanese-style gardens.
The site’s health club, complete with hydrotherapy pool and beauty and holistic therapies – which are also available to external people, helping to build Chase Park’s reputation at the heart of its community – has recently been supplemented further by the addition of an in-house hairdresser and barber.
As well as such wellbeing benefits for its residents, Chase Park continues to add further to its technology provision, with limb-training assistance being introduced into its neurorehabilitation work and dementia-specific technology now being offered in The Villa.
“Technology is used really well with our neurorehab clients, and now we have also purchased some dementia-specific sensory stimulation and relaxation technology,” says Dr Brahmabhatt.
“We are continuing to invest in this area to bring the very latest in technology to Chase Park, which can play such an important role in rehab and dementia care.”
While the opening of The Villa could have happened several months ago, Dr Brahmabhatt, working closely with neuro centre manager Jane Webber, decided to concentrate fully on supporting their existing residents through the COVID-19 pandemic, rather than admitting new ones.
Thanks to their stringent safety measures, introduced in early March 2020 and enforced ever since, Chase Park has remained entirely COVID free throughout.
“We made a conscious decision to keep our new unit closed during the height of the COVID pandemic, although there was some pressure for us to open to make beds available. But we didn’t feel that was the right thing to do,” says Dr Brahmabhatt.
“The whole premise of Chase Park is that we offer bespoke, high-quality, patient centred care, we’re different to other centres out there. There are a number of challenges around being so quality-led, from the pressures of the pandemic through to funding and the scramble for staff. This is where our management and leadership experience comes in, which is so important in helping us to maintain our ethos throughout.
“That played a big part in us waiting as long as we have to open. We didn’t want to rush the opening and open all the beds in one go. We tailor our services to the needs of our patients and their families, and if that means doing it slowly and in a more considered way, then so be it.
“None of our residents or team have contracted COVID and we have been completely COVID free, so that was the right decision.
“All credit has to go to Jane and our team for that, both for their work in ensuring infection control and keeping everyone safe, as well as making sure our residents didn’t feel isolated in the absence of family visits. That was a big challenge and a difficult one to get right, but the whole team deserve a big pat on the back for achieving that.
“But now, with the vaccination drive in full swing for both our residents and our staff, we thought this was an ideal time to open.
“We are now in a position to take referrals and hope to make our first admissions during July. We’re aware there is likely to be a lot of demand and within months we could be full, so we’re concentrating on a ten to 20-mile radius.”
With Chase Park now preparing to welcome new residents, the ongoing emergence from the COVID-19 pandemic and associated restrictions is giving a boost to everyone on site with the resumption of visits from families.
“This has been important for our clients. We arrange visits mainly in our conservatory and health club, which is working really well, so they can have the time and space alone with their loved ones while being in a part of the building which is accessible without walking through other parts and coming into contact with others,” says Dr Brahmabhatt.
“For families of potential dementia care clients, the summer will be a great time to come and see what we have to offer here. We have the Japanese gardens, the pond and our grounds, it doesn’t feel like a traditional nursing home. We will be in a position to welcome people into our gardens and look forward to sharing it with families.
“Things are feeling good now, finally. We have the vaccine roll-out, the easing of lockdown, the summer, all coming together at the right time. We really want to continue this feel good factor after what has been a really tough year, and the opening of The Villa will play a big part in that.”
