Green Light For New Centre Of Excellence

Plans for a £4million centre of excellence to support people with dementia have been given the go-ahead. The news came as it was announced that the best selling fantasy writer Terry Pratchett has donated £500,000 to help find a cure for Alzheimer’s disease, the most common form of dementia. After being diagnosed with the disease, the 59 year old author has described how it “strips way your living self a bit at a time”.

According to Professor Bob Woods, one of the UK's leading experts on dementia, the new centre in Wrexham will be one of major regional importance. He was speaking after it was confirmed that Pendine Park had secured planning permission for the pioneering project.

The new centre to be called Bodlondeb (a place of contentment), will look after 64 people with dementia who may need day care, respite care or residential services. It will be divided into 8 small, family-like units so that the residents receive as much individual care and attention as possible while benefiting from the back-up of a large organisation. The aim is to build on the specialist dementia care already provided at Pendine Park.

There will also be a big emphasis on staff training and development at the organisation’s Teaching Care Centre to support the carers who work at Bodlondeb.

Proprietor Mario Kreft says he hopes the expertise and training available at Pendine Park will be of benefit to the whole of the care sector in understanding how to provide better and more effective care. It is also a boost for the area’s local economy as the development will create up to 100 new jobs, taking the number of people employed by the Pendine Park group to more than 500.

Find out more on our New 'Dementia Care Centre' page ­ click here