A ceremony has been held to mark the topping out of HMT Littlehampton, a new dementia care home being completed in West Sussex.
The Healthcare Management Trust’s chief operations officer Mair Williams laid a stone to complete the building’s structural frame and thus mark the end of major construction. A registered charity, HMT runs specialist care homes across the UK. HMT Littlehampton is due to be completed by Highwood Group in spring 2023.
HMT Littlehampton will boast four separate wings, each with 16 bedrooms. Each wing will be split into two distinct eight-bed households with their own kitchens, dining, and lounge spaces. Residents will live alongside others at a similar stage of dementia.
The new home will feature a garden lounge and terraces overlooking landscaped grounds, as well as a hair salon, café, shop, and tea room.
Mair Williams said: “We are very excited to reach this milestone in the building development of HMT Littlehampton, which is specifically designed to enable and support the wellbeing of people with dementia and facilitates the household model of care. The building has strong sustainability credentials including a living, green roof, solar panels, and air source heat pumps as its primary source of heating.
“Not only will this £10 million home create valuable jobs in the community, it will also provide residents with a ground-breaking, high-quality care option for people suffering from dementia.”
Tony Barrett, HMT chief executive, said: “It’s an exciting day as HMT Littlehampton reaches a milestone in its construction. This is a ground-breaking care home as residents will feel like they are at home. HMT Littlehampton will look like a family style household as well as feel like one with the personal care they will receive. As construction continues, we are looking forward to the recruitment stage – offering fulfilling jobs to people in the community”.
Care home manager Annie Lewis added: “I am delighted to have been appointed as the manager of the care home which will be an integral part of the local community and will provide employment such as the role of ‘homemaker,’ who will support our residents to receive high-quality person-centred care in a ‘home-from-home’ environment. Residents living with dementia in the local community will be welcome to visit the cafe and hairdressing salon.”
