Plans for new £5m pandemic proof care home in Wigan are unveiled

Care home operators Millennium Care say the coronavirus pandemic has led them to rethink future homes to look at how they can keep people safe, while also minimising the risks of loneliness, helplessness and isolation.

They are proposing to build Lakeland care home in Standish, on the site of its existing Lakeside and Worthington Lake care homes.

It will have 48 high-end rooms for residents, along with specialist well-being facilities such as indoor botanical and therapeutic gardens, observation decks overlooking woodland and lake, art and music therapy rooms, and physiotherapy and fitness rooms.

Co-ordinating the design team on behalf of Millennium Care, Beth Brydges said: “If there is one thing that the Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted it’s the importance of the social care sector and, particularly, the role that care homes play in supporting the NHS.

“With research undertaken showing that the UK will need 10,000 new beds every year until 2030 in order to meet demand, and a forecast shortfall of 651 beds by 2025, Millennium Care plan to play their part in meeting growing demand whilst rethinking the traditional design to future-proof from future pandemics and the devastating effects of a prolonged lockdown.”

Care home design in large institutional settings has been identified as one of the major risk factors for spreading the virus.

So Lakeland will be organised in small autonomous clusters of seven and nine-bed households, all with individual kitchens and leisure facilities, meaning the residents will not feel the impact of isolation during

lockdown.

Millennium Care plans to build upon the success of Worthington Lake, which opened in 2019 with a unique household model of dementia care working alongside Stirling University, and provide a model of care that allows people with dementia to live as independently as possible without compromising their safety.

Alessandro Caruso, architect at ACA, said: “Lakeland EMI care home represented for ACA an incredible opportunity to harness our international research and experience as dementia-friendly designers adding value to the clinical experience of Millennium Care group’s vision to create an innovative model of care responding to these challenging

times.

“The proposed building will provide continuity of care to the residents of the existing campus should their care requirements change.

“We were able to work collaboratively through the challenges of lockdowns to visit the site and understand what is already working and synthesize the common traits of dementia-friendly and pandemic-proof design.

“From the extensive consultations with clinicians at every level of the care framework, it was clear that the innovative model of care proposed provided an adaptable structure much needed should pandemic be repeated in future.

“The building design accommodates for progressive dementia care needs with floor layouts based on a ‘small group household’ model of care, which suits the homely feel requirements of a dementia care setting.

“This proved to be useful to control access and to group together residents with Covid, away from the rest.

“The care home will host an art and therapy room, an indoor garden, a physiotherapy and fitness room and bird watching observation decks overlooking the surrounding woodland and the lake.

“The variety of spaces available will allow residents to observe social distancing whilst enjoying much-needed contact.

“Considering the embracing nature of the existing woodland setting, positive risk taking was at the heart of the design for outdoor areas with communal areas and ground-floor bedrooms provided with bi-folding doors allowing residents to interact with the nature.”

Lakeland will the first care home in Wigan to be built following the Covid-19 pandemic and will include a visitation pavilion, to ensure families can stay connected if there is ever another pandemic.

To find out more about the new development and share your thoughts in a public consultstation, go to www.lakelandcarehome.co.uk

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