New activities programme brings community and connection to people with dementia in Littlehampton

Norden House provides residential care, nursing and specialist support for people with dementia and older people’s needs. It has been specifically designed to empower residents to continue living full and satisfying lives.

The programme of events, visits and activities has been set up to support residents to go into the community and experience ‘normal’ life as well as bring people together within Norden House.

Residents recently visited Ferring Country Centre and spent the day at Dales Farm and a local aquatics centre.

To mark Remembrance Day, residents came together in the Honey Bee Tea Room at Norden House, to sing war songs, make poppy wreaths and paint. They’ve also spent time baking and cooking.

Andrea Barker, Manager of Norden House, said: “Keeping active, both physically and mentally, is imperative as we get older. But for people with dementia, it’s even more important as it can help prevent falls, improve people’s moods and help them deal with the stress of the condition. We were delighted to take our residents to Dales Farm recently - they had such a wonderful time, and to hear our residents share war stories and songs was a very poignant way to mark Remembrance Day.

“Our new activities programme will provide lots of opportunities for our residents to move and connect but perhaps most importantly it will take them outside of Norden House where they can enjoy our community and experience similar things that they did when they lived in their own home.”

The team have various events planned for the winter including visits from local schools to celebrate the festive season.

Norden House is managed by the Healthcare Management Trust and opened in February this year. Its design was inspired by research into what people with dementia want from the built care environment and the Hogeweyk in dementia village in Holland. Residents live with up to seven other people in a household, who have similar care needs or are at a similar stage of dementia, important for reducing stress and encouraging socialisation. Each household has its own kitchen, open plan lounge dining room, day lounge spaces and ensuite bedrooms many of which have their own patio. Running through the centre of the community is a ‘high street’ with the Honey Bee café and hair salon. There are also gardens and a holistic therapy room.