KITWOOD House – a unique 68 bed centre of excellence in dementia care – is ready to open its doors to the public next month.

Located in Rudheath, the new site is described by care professionals as 'the next generation in dementia care' with a train simulation, mock shops and UV cleaning.

Residents can enjoy a full day out, jam packed with activity, without ever leaving the building thanks to a number of themed interactive areas.

A spokesperson for Kitwood House explained: "Residents can buy a train ticket from the ticket office, a newspaper from the kiosk and wait in the waiting room until it is time to board the train.

"The train itself is a RemPod railway carriage with an LED window display that projects the sights and sounds of a moving train.

"The view from the window offers changing scenes of landscapes, other trains passing by and pulling into and out of a station.

"There are several journeys to choose from and they are something of which you will never tire of seeing.

Northwich Guardian:

"To make the experience even more authentic, L&M Healthcare (the owners of Kitwood House) have installed simulated railway carriage seating, producing a combined package that looks and feels simply amazing.

"Once you have arrived at your destination, you can visit the local market café, take afternoon tea, do some grocery shopping at the green grocers, buy bread from the bakers, and visit other shops such as a tailor or the hardware store.

"If you don’t fancy a day out but just want to potter about, you can do some gardening on the potting trolly, search the internet or play memory games on the giant ipad.

"You can also play with interactive light games on the award winning ‘Tovertafel’ or Magic Table or do your laundry at the local launderette.

"All these things are ready made activities; but activities coordinators then take this to the next level, researching resident’s backgrounds and interests to ensure that the daily programme of activities are all tailored to the individual and are person centred."

Kitwood House is named after the innovative Tom Kitwood – the University of Bradford Professor attributed as founder of the principle of person-centred care.

The focus of this principle is that care is individual need-led and not disease lead.

All L&M Healthcare homes are run on this philosophy.

Jo Fogg, director of clinical quality and governance, L&M Healthcare, said: "The themed areas provide clear opportunities for positive daily experiences for our residents.

"We are seeing many successful breakthrough moments with residents in our other homes.

"Our staff feel this is in part due to the innovative design and facilities of the buildings."

Northwich Guardian:

Aarchitects and builders of Kitwood House, Dynamic Building Solutions, have even future-proofed the building against infection control.

Access is by no-touch, face recognition and temperature screening.

If the system detects a raised temperature that is above normal range, it will deny access.

If anyone in the building develops a high temperature, they will be immediately identified and sectioned off to be tested for infection.

All bedrooms have a silent UV cleansing and sanitising unit which cleanse and purify the air, again reducing the risk of spreading air borne viruses.

Jeanne Davies, managing director, L&M Healthcare said: "We believe that this home is next generation in the facilities it offers and also incorporates high spec' technology that assists in infection control that is more recognisable in futuristic airports and hospitals, rather than in care homes."

Key care professionals will be invited to an open day on Tuesday, August 10.

Members of the local community will be invited to attend open days on Saturday August 14 and Sunday August 15.

To book please call Alison Porter on 07904 938187