Northcare Manor, a new care home in Edinburgh that incorporates an old shopping street to help its residents reminisce, has opened with the support of a £7.73 m funding package from Royal Bank of Scotland.
Thought to be the first of its kind in the UK and drawing inspiration from the street scenes in Glasgow’s award-winning Riverside Museum, the family team behind Northcare Manor has resurrected former Edinburgh retailers Binn’s Haberdashery, Lillywhite’s News, Rankin’s Grocers and Duncan’s Sweetshop, alongside a 1950s car and petrol pump, cinema and cocktail bar, to create a unique and welcoming environment for its residents.
Mother and son team, Margaret and William Sawers, have worked with the Dementia Services Development Centre at the University of Stirling, to create what they believe to be a unique care environment for the residents in their care. They are working towards a Gold Star recommendation from the centre, such is the high standard of care and amenities available.
Northcare Manor is a purpose-built 74-bed luxury care home in the west of the capital, part of the family-run Northcare group which includes five other homes, all in the west of Scotland. Around 75 care, administration and management jobs have been created as a result of the Edinburgh home opening. Northcare’s second Edinburgh development, Northcare Suites on Telford Road, is currently under construction and will open in 2019.
William Sawers, director at Northcare, says: “We went to great lengths to research some of the features we wanted to create here at Northcare Manor to ensure they were suitable for the home, but more importantly, they would be suitable and welcoming for our residents.
"Some of the residents we’ve welcomed so far remember the shops we’ve recreated, and you can see the positive effect it has as they reminisce. We have been Royal Bank of Scotland customers for 25 years, and they have been instrumental not only in what we have created here in Edinburgh, but throughout the history of our business.”
Charles Robertson, relationship director at the Royal Bank of Scotland, says: “With nearly 30 years’ experience, Margaret and William have created a truly unique care environment, focusing on the highest standards of care coupled with five-star facilities and characteristics. Royal Bank of Scotland is proud to support Northcare in the next stage of its growth and we wish the team every success.”
