St Andrew’s Healthcare in Northampton, a charity providing specialist mental healthcare, has opened the Lowther dementia hub – a registered hospital service providing gender-specific inpatient care for men and women, typically over 65, with complex needs.

Lowther is a purpose-built dementia-friendly environment designed by the hospital’s specialist dementia, multi-disciplinary team, staff, and carers. It represents a significant step forward in the care and support of people with dementia who have complex behaviours or may have restrictions imposed on them by the Mental Health Act or the criminal justice service.

The hub’s design revolves around a village theme and incorporates supportive technology and design features that improve engagement and enhance quality of life. It aims to create a recognisable and calming environment for patients and to replicate a local community, with a post office, launderette, and other amenities to help settle patients in a familiar setting.

A wide range of specialist therapies are on offer which are designed to manage cognitive decline, reduce challenging behaviour, and encourage positive life experiences for people living with dementia, alongside their other physical and mental illness needs.

According to the Alzheimer’s Society[i], the number of people with dementia in the UK is forecast to increase to over 1 million by 2021 and over 2 million by 2051. Its estimated 7.1% of the population over 65 has dementia.

David Anthony, St Andrew’s Head of Recruitment, commented: “We are a leading provider of specialist mental healthcare. Our in-depth expertise covers complex dementia, and the new state-of-the-art dementia hub is helping to transform the lives of people living with this condition.

“We are also seeking healthcare professionals to join us at St Andrew’s Healthcare. We offer excellent career progression with training opportunities for people to enhance and develop their skills, as well as a great benefits package and the opportunity to work in beautiful surroundings at our Northampton site.”

The charity currently has vacancies for Healthcare Assistants to work in two of the new dementia wards.  They will become part of the wider nursing and clinical teams focusing on patients and their rehabilitation, daily activities, and care. The roles are really varied, and require physical fitness as well as patience, accountability, and people engagement skills.

For other vacancies at St Andrew’s Healthcare visit http://bestofbothworlds.uk.net/st-andrews-healthcare/.

St Andrew’s Healthcare is part of the ‘Best of Both Worlds’ recruitment campaign. The campaign brings together the University of Northampton, Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, Northampton General Hospital, Kettering General Hospital (KGH), St Andrew’s Healthcare and Northants GP to recruit nurses, doctors, and healthcare professionals to live and work in Northamptonshire.

To find out about vacancies across Northamptonshire visit http://bestofbothworlds.uk.net/