Runwood Homes Senior Living of U.K. is creating retro tea rooms at many of its care homes so residents can have a day out without leaving the home.
Geoff Pride, marketing director for Runwood Homes, says that the ‘themed tea rooms’ are “part of our full engagement approach to care and dementia care in particular.”
Each care home has chosen a certain theme for their tea room such as the Queen or the 1940s or 1950s.
The tea rooms help to make the often difficult experience of visiting a loved one in a care home into a positive one for all, thereby improving and enhancing relationships, says Mr Pride.
The tea rooms are “essentially for residents, families and friends to meet in a relaxing old fashioned tea room environment. They also help people cope with the often real challenge of visiting someone in a care home and it works.”
In many of the Runwood care homes, the tea room has become the central hub and a popular meeting place for residents.
“It creates a very warm, welcoming atmosphere and an environment that brings back many happy memories for our residents of family outings,” he adds.
The tea rooms are also an ideal meeting place for community groups. Runwood’s Waterfield House in Hadleigh, Suffolk, hosts a weekly knit and knatter community group and the numbers have grown steadily throughout the year.
Runwood Homes is now expanding on the tea room idea by creating old fashioned sweet shops.
“At Waterfield House, the residents really enjoy visiting the sweet shop and volunteer to act as shop assistants for the day, says Mr Pride.
For more info on Runwood Homes Senior Living, go to: http://runwoodhomes.co.uk
Call free from within the U.K.: 0800 412 5660