Work underway to refurbish the Isle of Wight dementia ward

Shackleton Ward, rated inadequate by Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspectors, was deemed ‘unfit for purpose’ and is undergoing a £200,000 refurbishment.

The specialist ward is set to open in June, and is on week four of a nine week refurbishment plan.

The central lounge will provide a bigger space for activities on the ward.

During the refurbishment, if a patient requires specialist inpatient dementia care, and cannot be safely looked after on a regular hospital ward at St Mary’s, they will be sent elsewhere in Hampshire.

Service manager for older persons’ mental health, Sarah Turtle, said the refurbishment would only be a temporary solution, as the ward still does not have access to an outdoor space.

The female only lounge will be completely refurbished.

“Currently if staff want to take people outside they have to walk them downstairs, and out in to the dementia garden. This can be difficult when patients are getting distressed,” she said.

Within the next two years a ward with access to the outside will be created elsewhere in the hospital, to provide a more suitable space for dementia patients who stay on the ward up to six weeks.

The office and the medicine store.

Sarah said: “But two years is a long time to wait, and we needed a better solution now.”

The new ward will have six beds, but will accommodate only four patients at a time. Walls have been knocked down to provide a large central lounge, in addition to male-only and female-only lounges.

Soft lighting will provide a more homely feel in the ward.

Colour-coded rooms will help patients navigate their way around, and two former shower rooms will be converted into functioning wet rooms.

Rooms are being refurbished to provide a more homely feel, with new beds and cupboards and soft lighting.