Purpose–built community for those living with memory loss to be built in Limerick after success in The Netherlands
Construction work has begun, following the Dutch model of adopting purpose–built villages for people diagnosed with dementia. The location of the village is set in Bruff, County Limerick.
It is based on a similarly designed community in De Hogeweyk in the Netherlands and will see 18 homes built together for those living from memory loss.
Each home will have its own living room, bedroom, bathroom and private garden and the village will include a cafe, beauty salon, gym and talking sheds in the hope of creating a relaxing environment for its residents.
The company behind the project, CareBright Community, which has offices in Limerick and Cork, said that its research shows that small scale household models have a positive impact on those living with dementia.
Majella Murphy, Business Development Manager at Care– Bright, explained how her company’s extensive research led to the concept of the Bruff project, as an alternative to an inevitable stay at a care home:
“We visited several sites in the UK and Holland and found the successful household model being used in Holland was similar to the vision we had in mind,” she said. CareBright said that this model – which “goes against routinised care and the development of institutionalised cultures” – will “change the face of dementia care in Ireland”.
Photo credit:
Pictured at The Alzheimer Society of Ireland’s (ASI) Pre Budget Submission 2015 are Helen Rochford–Brennan (left) from Sligo who has dementia, Dorothy Mooney from Dublin whose husband has dementia and Eamon O’Farrell whose mother has dementia. Photo: Mark Stedman/Photocall Ireland