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Jul 20 - Bella Vista Day Centre “Working At Near Full Capacity”

The Bella Vista Day Centre for Alzheimer’s and Dementia patients is now working at almost full capacity, offering therapeutic services to around 70 patients from Monday to Friday.

The centre provides a holistic approach to dementia by having a multidisciplinary assessment in order to identify patient needs. Services include nursing, speech and language therapy, as well as a psychologist and a GP. The team works closely together with a consultant psychiatrist, a consultant geriatrician and nurses from the memory clinic and the Care Agency.

Once the specific needs are identified for each patient, the Multi-Disciplinary Team develops individualised care plans, which include the different activities in the centre, (both medical and recreational), to optimise an approach of person-centred care and therefore their quality of life.

The centre provides breakfast, lunch and snacks, ‘snoezelen’ facilities, reminiscence therapy, arts and crafts, cognitive stimulation programs, as well as personal hygiene for those who require additional help. The afternoons are taken up mostly by entertainment with bingo sessions, table- top games, cinema and arts and crafts.

Those patients with mild dementia who are still active in the community are supported by cognitive stimulation via a computer programme. Each of the activities at the centre is designed with a therapeutic purpose and monitored by the professional team. With these interventions, the aim is to promote autonomy and delay dependency.

The GHA has introduced GP services in the centre, in order to create a one-stop shop. This service includes investigation requests, blood tests, microbiology, ECGs, changes in dressing, blood pressure, diabetes control, similar to the Primary Care Centre. With these services, continuity of care and a reduced burden on families is guaranteed. Other services provided to patients as part of their daily timetable, includes hairdressing and transport.

Minister for Health, Care and Justice, Neil F. Costa, said: “I am extremely pleased that the excellent Bella Vista Day Centre for Alzheimer and Dementia patients is now working to near full capacity. The success of this excellent centre is further testament to the ambitious vision that we have rolled out, regarding the need for a complete overhaul and transformation of care services in the community. The quality and professionalism of the care provided to vulnerable members of the community at Bella Vista, is excellent - something that the people of Gibraltar can be justifiably proud. Bella Vista highlights our firm commitment to effective, compassionate and high quality care. Alzheimer’s and Dementia are a concern of modern societies and we need to act decisively to ensure that we create the necessary infrastructure to deal with such a serious and growing medical condition.”

“I would also like to take this opportunity to extend my sincere appreciation for the work carried out by the service provider Meddoc, in ensuring that the Bella Vista Centre project came to successful fruition. The Ministry for Health looks forward to a continued productive working relationship with them for the benefit of patients and their families. I was also especially impressed with the accessible friendly transport to and from Bella Vista, which Meddoc provides”

Manager at Bella Vista Day Centre, Ms Sonal Samtani, added: “Families and service users have provided useful suggestions and very positive feedback for the first six months since Bella Vista opened. This reflects the efforts of the whole team and motivates us to continue to improve our service.”


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