Congratulations to our team at The Lighthouse on winning the Service User Experience Award at the national Design in Mental Health Conference on Tuesday, 19th May. The prestige award recognises organisations and projects that have put their clients at the heart of the design process creating facilities which are truly beneficial to their needs.The Lighthouse, at Edward Street Hospital, fought off stiff competition to make it on to a tight shortlist of four nominees. Louise Dawes, Older Adults Service Manager, attended the exciting evening event at The National Motorcycle Museum with our project architects Gilling and Dod, and was extremely proud to pick up the fantastic award for the site.
The Lighthouse is a community resource centre, based in Sandwell, for people with dementia and their loved ones. It has a range of resources that are open to the public 7 days a week, to support people to live well with dementia and stay independent for longer.
The Lighthouse was specially designed to provide a calm and relaxing space and includes a café, hair salon, prayer room, social club and cinema where people can relax, enjoy themselves and be pampered. Visitors can also find out about dementia and how to live positively with the illness thanks to the education resources on offer, including a show flat with practical tips on how to make a home dementia friendly.
The Design in Mental Health Conference is an annual event which promotes collaboration between professionals and service users to deliver the next generation of mental health facilities. In the year that The Lighthouse has been open it has proved itself to be an innovation in dementia care and a benchmark for future projects.
Well done to everyone involved!