Purpose-built for dementia St Catherines View, Winchester, welcomes first residents

New specialist dementia care home St Catherine’s View, in Winchester, has now welcomed its first residents, having been officially opened by Mayor of Winchester, Councillor Barry Lipscomb at a launch attended by more than 150 guests, including representatives from the Alzheimer’s Society.

The £8m state-of-the-art facility is the latest addition to the portfolio of Colten Care, who operate nineteen residential care homes located in Hampshire, Dorset and Wiltshire. Purposely designed to achieve effective and tailored care packages for people with memory loss, the home consists of five small house groups, with an interior decoration that research has shown to benefit individuals experiencing a loss of cognitive ability.

St Catherine’s View will employ 80 staff, including specialist nurses, with all staff experiencing expert training from Bournemouth University’s School of Health and Social Care.

Colten Care managing director Ian Hudson spoke of the importance of specialist homes: “Our new home will provide much needed specialist dementia care for Winchester and the surrounding area. Although the number of beds registered for dementia care has increased slightly over the past few years, this has largely been by existing beds being re-registered for dementia care. Sadly there have been very few purpose-built facilities such as St Catherines View.”

Looking to embrace the surrounding community, the provider is also hosting a public open day tomorrow that will be attended by well-known broadcaster Dr Hilary Jones. Visitors will be able to see the home’s themed rooms for themselves, designed to evoke reminiscence and nostalgia, as well as the landscaped gardens that include vegetable patches and even a bat house.

Image: The Mayor of Winchester, Councillor Barry Lipscomb, declares St Catherines View open with the unveiling of a ceremonial plaque. With him is Ian Hudson, Managing Director of Colten Care, and the Mayoress, Mrs Christine Lipscomb.