‘Dementia friendly’ hospital project
The NSW/ACT Dementia Training Study Centre will launch its national education and consultancy service on designing dementia friendly hospitals and inpatient units across Australia with a two day workshop in Sydney later this month, followed by other states in August and September.
The NSW/ACT Dementia Training Study Centre will launch its national education and consultancy service on designing dementia friendly hospitals and inpatient units across Australia with a two day workshop in Sydney later this month, followed by other states in August and September.
The keynote speaker at the Sydney workshop is architect Kristen Whittle, lead designer for the new award winning $1 billion Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne, and Director of Bates Smart Architects.
The NSW/ACT Dementia Training Study Centre (DTSC), based at the University of Wollongong, has received $217,000 from the Australian government to provide the Designing for People With Dementia (DPD): healthcare service in 2013.
As part of the service, a team of consultants, led by NSW/ACT DTSC director Professor Richard Fleming and architect Kirsty Bennett, will provide a two day workshop on designing dementia friendly healthcare facilities in every state and territory this year. This will be followed by consultancies to at least 25 hospital based projects across Australia.
The service is aimed at architects, health planners, facilities managers, clinical and allied health managers, health professionals and design consultants working on plans for healthcare facilities including inpatient units, emergency departments and multipurpose services.
The workshops are suitable for those working on improving existing facilities or designing new buildings and facilities.
“The workshops will be practical and interactive, offering an explanation of 10 evidence based principles of design and presentations on how to apply them in a systematic approach to planning new and refurbished healthcare facilities for people with dementia,” Professor Fleming said.
He said the benefits of a well designed environment for older people with dementia included a reduction in confusion, agitation and depression and an increase in quality of life.
The NSW/ACT DTSC launched what was described as Australia’s first national dementia design consultancy service for residential aged care facilities in 2011.
Workshop details:
30-31 July, 9am-5pm daily, North Sydney Harbourview Hotel, 17 Blue St, North Sydney
Cost: The initiative is fully funded by the federal government. Register at Designing for People with Dementia Registration closes Friday, 26 July.
Other states: Workshops will also be held on the following proposed dates in Melbourne (15-16 August), Tasmania (21-22 August), Darwin (11-12 September), Adelaide (16-17 September), Brisbane (19-20 September) and Perth (26-27 September).
To register your interest in these workshops, email dementia@uow.edu.au or click here.
