Wellness blooms in garden

BUPA Care Banora Point general manager Jo Spirit-Jones, resident Doug Murray and Minister for Ageing Justine Elliot in the facility’s new dementia care garden. Photo: CRYSTAL SPENCER/D103838a

AUSTRALIA’S first dementia care garden was opened yesterday at Banora Point.

The $8.6 million state-of-the-art dementia wing was officially opened by Minister for Ageing and Richmond Justine Elliot.

The Banora Point facility is a flagship for dementia care in Australia and Banora Point general manager Jo Spirit-Jones is confident the garden will be of huge benefit to all residents.

“Research shows that spending time in a garden is very effective for improving the mood, physical health and mobility of elderly residents and especially for reducing anxiety in people with dementia,” Ms Spirit-Jones said.

“We also hope that this garden and the activities it provides will bring a lot of enjoyment for our residents and their family members when they visit.”

The garden provides cognitive and sensory stimulation through its therapeutic design, which features a beach area, a green for activities such as lawn bowls, an aviary and an area where residents can undertake other activities of personal interest.

Ms Spirit-Jones said Bupa Care would carry out an ongoing clinical evaluation of the Banora Point garden to determine its impact on resident wellbeing, with a view to creating similar environments at the other Bupa Care facilities.

The centre has also partnered with Alzheimer’s Australia to ensure all their Banora Point nursing staff have increased knowledge and understanding of how to care for dementia residents.

“Training provided by Alzheimer’s Australia has contributed to our commitment to personalised care and our understanding of the behaviour and needs of dementia residents,” Ms Spirit-Jones said.

Representatives from the UK and Spain were at yesterday’s opening to research the garden.

Ms Elliot said the new wing had added 41 dementia-specific places to the facility, bringing the total number of beds to 97.

“Innovative approaches to dementia care such as this sensory garden are to be commended,” she said.

“I congratulate the staff and management at Bupa Banora Point for their hard work in developing this facility.”