18th May 2009
Surgeon General Visits The Royal Star & Garter's Solihull Home
Britain's most senior military medic, Lieutenant General Louis Lillywhite, has visited the Royal Star & Garter's new Solihull Home. The Surgeon General was given a tour of the building by the Charity's Chief Executive, Mike Barter, and Director of Care & Service Development, Pauline Shaw, and spoke to residents and staff along the way.
The Charity has been caring for the disabled ex-Service community at its Richmond, Surrey, Home since 1916. It has now embarked on an ambitious programme to build new care homes around the country in areas where a need is identified and, for the first time, will include the ability to offer dementia care. The Solihull Home is the first of these new purpose-built care homes.
It has 60 bed-sitting rooms with ensuite shower, toilet and washing facilities - 45 for those requiring nursing care, and 15 rooms in a separate specially-designed unit to meet the growing need to accommodate residents with dementia. This unit, called The Roundel Wing, has been generously funded by the Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund.
Light and space are features of the building. Residents' bed-sitting rooms are approximately 16.5 square metres and have large and low windows to enable them to enjoy views over gardens or parkland, overhead tracking to make it easy to transfer from bed to shower room, and an electrically operated bed to maximise comfort and safety, and facilitate personal care and one-to-one therapy.
Other facilities include a large dining room, a café and bar, therapy and activity rooms for group activities and exercise, a library and computer area, a hair and beauty salon and a sizeable garden with a separate sensory garden, all set in beautiful and accessible surroundings next to a park.
Lieutenant General Lillywhite commented particularly on the use of environmentally-friendly systems such as the ozone washing facility, the clothing tagging system in the laundry, and the inverted build with infrastructure and services on the upper floor to minimise disruption to residents.
Opened in August 2008, the home has recently won a Pinders Healthcare Design Award. These Awards seek to acknowledge the contribution made by designers, architects, and the owners of care homes, hospitals and other care schemes to the well-being and quality of life for those in their care.
Thanking Mike Barter for the visit, Lieutenant General Lillywhite - a former Governor of the Charity - said: "The thought that has gone into the design is to be seen at every turn and the recognition of the home's quality with the Pinders Award is richly deserved. Similarly the quality of care is evident. It was a stimulating visit and it was particularly heartening to see both the enthusiasm and interest of those involved."
Photo Caption: Lieutenant General Lillywhite joins residents for lunch at The Royal Star & Garter’s Solihull Home