Angela Rippon OBE Opens Anchor's New Care Home

Broadcaster Angela Rippon OBE officially opened the newest care home in Hackney on Wednesday (14 May).

Ms Rippon was invited to Anchor Trust’s Monarch Court in Cadogan Terrace to see the wide range of facilities on offer at the 66-bedroom care home.

Although there will be one floor dedicated to caring for people with dementia, all Anchor staff have received specialist dementia training and the whole building has been designed to enable residents to live independent lives.

The home was designed in partnership with Anchor’s specialist dementia team and includes features painted in colours to help residents navigate themselves around the home.

Hand rails in corridors are a darker colour than the walls and only toilet doors in the home are painted aqua so that residents can easily distinguish them from other doors.

The dining rooms have been painted in baked food colours which can stimulate the appetite, helping to ensure residents get the nutrition they need.

The home will also adopt Anchor’s pioneering Dining with Dignity programme where mealtimes are geared round enabling residents with dementia to eat independently.

Some members of staff will receive advanced dementia training to become Dementia Champions, meaning they can help other members of staff who are supporting residents with this illness.

Monarch Court´s care of people with dementia was of particular interest to Ms Rippon, whose 87-year-old mother has the condition.

Ms Rippon said: "Monarch Court is a state of the art home and Anchor has raised the bar when it comes to providing care for older people, particularly those with dementia.

“While other organisations are still talking about the problems, Anchor is finding the solutions and putting these into practice. They are leading the way for other care homes."

Anchor’s Managing Director of Care Services Jane Ashcroft said the staff were delighted to show Ms Rippon how the care home would enable residents to lead healthy and fulfilling lives. She said: "Monarch Court demonstrates how Anchor is developing the very best facilities to improve the lives of older people. That means excellent care, all food being made from fresh seasonal ingredients and a wide range of activities to keep residents’ minds and bodies agile."

Ms Ashcroft added mealtimes were an important part of the daily lives of older people and Monarch Court had adopted a variety of schemes to ensure that meals would be a pleasurable experience.

She said: “Monarch Court’s catering staff are trained in Anchor’s award-winning Cater Craft where the kitchen staff have been taught to cook traditional meals popular with older people from scratch using fresh ingredients.

"Residents can choose what they would like to eat from a menu rather than having to order in advance. A selection of meals can also be brought to the residents at their table so they can make a choice based on what each meal looks like, smells like and even tastes like."

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