“These standards provide the opportunity to build on Australia's decades of innovation in dementia design, and to turn the unique into the norm,” said Associate Professor Colm Cunningham.
“The challenge will be to change the culture of the sector, but Australia has proven many times it's up for the challenge.”
The four principles and 31 guidelines are based on the kind of evidence and experience that HammondCare has been building on for 30 years.
Supported by over 200 checklist items, they are a design blueprint for making better lives for some of the most vulnerable people in society.
The guidelines flesh out in detail just how to improve environments for aged care residents, half of whom are living with dementia.
Moving away from institutional models of the past, they aim to support the delivery of “high quality, safe, respectful and dignified care” based on four central principles:
The Dementia Centre's design lead, Daniel Jameson, who contributed to the draft, believes they are a huge step in the right direction.
“These guidelines are a big challenge to the sector,” Daniel said. “But they are also a pathway to a future where better design leads to better lives.”
If you're looking for changes you could make right away, some of the suggestions are very straightforward. Here are a few examples:
Let in the light
Under the ‘Brighter Lighting' guideline, it is explained that most aged care homes conform to codes written for younger eyes, resulting in poor lighting for older people. One of the simplest solutions is to make sure curtains are fully opened every day, and to aim for ambient light levels of 300 lux. Don't know how to check light levels? There's an app for that!
Happy feet
The ‘Safe Floors' guideline suggests that you remove any dark coloured mats from entrances and exits in resident areas, providing fixed matting matching the floor colour. This is because darker sections appear as obstacles to those with vision or cognitive impairments.
My space
In the ‘Room Clusters' guideline, the goal is to make spaces that fit the functions they're used for, and to cultivate a home-like atmosphere. Furnish and decorate spaces with items that are familiar and resemble the intended function of the space – for example, a lounge room should resemble a domestic lounge, one which the resident would find in their home. Make sure you provide opportunities to personalise spaces in the bedroom but also in common areas. Personalising a space can help people feel a greater sense of place and belonging.
There's no doubt that many of the recommendations will take much longer-term planning to fulfil.
That's where The Dementia Centre can really help.
We have the experience and the knowledge to guide aged care providers down the path ahead of them, drawing on the highly-regarded expertise of our dementia specialists, our proven dementia-friendly design practices, and our host of informative and practical resources.
Check these out for starters:
Whether your organisation wants to create dementia-inclusive environments or provide tailored dementia care grounded in the latest evidence, our certified consultants can help.
The Dementia Design School is essential training for aged care professionals seeking proven tools to deliver dementia-inclusive design.
A collection of resources and publications offering evidence-based approaches to dementia care that can change lives, including everything from the gold-standard BPSD textbook to short guides to acoustics and lighting.