A £13m dementia intensive care unit has been given the seal of approval by patients, families and staff.

Hammerton Court, next to the Julian Hospital, in Colman Road, Norwich, has 36 bedrooms, has been purpose built for dementia care and represents the largest single investment in dementia care in Norfolk yet.

The Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust building, which was officially opened by Jenny Lay, the lord mayor of Norwich, was named in the memory of the late Cressida Hammerton, who worked closely with the trust and dementia services in Norfolk following the death of her husband, Peter, who had the condition.

John Batt, who has had dementia for three years and lives in Beccles, read a poem he had written about the building at the opening.

Mr Batt said: “I think it’s beautiful and I fell in love with it when I first saw it.

“If I could get in here I would because it’s such a lovely place.”

Maggie Wheeler, chairman of the mental health trust, said the trust was not just investing in bricks and mortar, but in helping people with dementia to stay in their own homes for as long as possible.

She said: “But this is where people will come when it’s no longer possible for them to stay where they are living.”

She added: “Today, I am confident Hammerton Court is the best dementia care unit in the country.”

Each bedroom contains a wealth of assisted technology allowing patients to be as independent as possible, with light sensors in the bathrooms and automatic water switch off.

This assistive technology will also help the nurses and carers tell when a patient is out of bed from outside the room, giving more privacy to the patient.

Significant attention to detail such as texture, sound and colour has been used to maximise the environment as a fantastic place for patients, carers and staff.

Deputy unit manager Jackie Johnson said some of the smallest design features will make an enormous difference to how staff are able to care for people, for example being able to take them out to enjoy one of the three courtyard gardens within the unit.

She said: “Because it is such a fantastic building it really will help the staff motivation and to re-engerise the staff.”

The building also has a community cafe, public information hub and a suite for training staff.

kim.briscoe@archant.co.uk

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