Manager arrives at new Edinburgh care home

Home news

Jan 24, 2013

The development of a brand new care home for Edinburgh is one step closer to completion, with the arrival of the home manager.

Care UK has appointed experienced nurse and dementia care manager Helen Kinnaird as manager of Cairdean house, which will be Edinburgh’s newest nursing home, providing specialist care for people with dementia in an innovative and interactive environment.

Cairdean House was designed by Richard Pollock, Director of Architecture at Stirling University’s Dementia Services Development Centre.

Helen currently manages Care UK’s Caledonian Court care home in Falkirk, which provides specialist residential, nursing and respite care for older people with Alzheimer's and other types of dementia.

Helen, who has now taken up her post at the Redford Road home, said: “I am ecstatic about the new home. Burnett Pollock Associates are international experts in creating buildings that help people with dementia lead calm, happy and fulfilled lives and Care UK has pioneered training and care that helps people retain their individuality and independence.”

People with dementia can find large spaces and noise intimidating, so the design of both the home and grounds reflects a domestic setting. The 90 rooms are separated into nine suites, each with ten bedrooms, a kitchen and dining room, and residents and their families will have access to a coffee shop, activities room, a retro-themed kitchen, a hair salon and spa, a cinema, library and reminiscence room.

The grounds too are kept intimate by the use of trellises, sheds and gazebos to break up the space. Washing lines have also been incorporated into the designs to make the grounds feel like home and the name, Cairdean, was chosen because it is Scottish Gaelic for friends and relations.

Helen added: “My team and I will be committed to helping residents live their lives as they wish and to the best of their abilities. We will also be on hand to support friends and relatives, who will experience many different emotions and practical issues as their loved one’s dementia is diagnosed and then progresses.”

Helen, who has a degree in geriatric care and 15 years’ specialist experience, is looking forward to building her 80-strong team.

She said: “Care UK believes that everyone who works in a home, including the kitchen team, maintenance people and administrators, should be trained in understanding dementia and how it affects the way people experience life.

“Everyone who works at Cairdean will receive Care UK’s award-winning experiential training, which gives a direct experience of the dramatic effect that dementia and frailty can have on the senses: special glasses blur participants’ vision, headphones deliver white noise and gloves restrict the movement of fingers. It a very powerful experience and develops wonderful levels of empathy and understanding, even in those who have never worked in a care role.”

Care UK will begin recruiting a team for the home over the coming months and training and induction will take place in the weeks before Cairdean welcomes its first residents in April.