Recently refurbished with a grant from the Department of Health Capital Investment initiative,    Beaconsfield East is a 20 bedded rehabilitation ward for older adults, many of whom have dementia. The ward has been organized into 4 x 4-bedded bays and 4 single rooms with additional reception, sensory areas and utility service areas.

Working closely with staff and patient families, the project aims were to create a dementia–friendly physical environment that enhanced the experience of patients and their carer’s.

The project has 5 interdependent components:

• Upgrade ward décor, lighting, flooring and signage to create a calming ambience. Each bay has been given its own distinctive features through use of colour-coding and stunning floral artwork.
• Creation of a patient day-room including dining area and kitchen to increase the social experience for patients and their families.
• Creation of Sensory Room to provide patients with a quiet, calming area with a range of equipment including comfortable seating, fibre optic strings and multimedia equipment for  visual and auditory stimulation.
• Re-fitting de-commissioned bathroom to provide an assisted wet-room, and an independent shower for more able patients.
• Creation of Sensory Garden to provide fragrant and tactile plants, with refurbished upper terrace areas, pathways and canopy’s to enable use at all times of the year.

Winner of Best Internal Environment at the Building Better Healthcare Awards 2014. The judges said: "This is an exempla; a very comprehensive ward refurbishment to meet the needs of frail elderly people and those with dementia. We particularly like the use of colour and art to help with wayfinding, the provision of social space for patients and relatives, and the way the design has thoughtfully connected the internal and external environments."