Southwood opens with special care

Hammond Care celebrated its 75th anniversary in style with NSW Governor Professor Marie Bashir (pictured with Hammond Care chairman, John Clark) who officially opened its brand new Southwood nursing home in Sydney.

The 84-place dementia-specific facility at Hammond village incorporates an eight-bed special care unit (SCU) and transitional support for people with severe behavioural disturbances associated with their dementia.

With $1 million of additional funding from NSW Health, the unit links psychiatric, medical and residential services for this often overlooked group of vulnerable people.

“Without this type of service, they would find themselves in a psychogeriatric ward, or worse, ‘ping-ponging’ around the system,” said Hammond Care CEO, Stephen Judd.

Southwood features six self-contained cottages that designed to encourage residents to participate in everyday activities, such as preparing meals in the centrally located, domestic kitchens.

The facility has no alarms or buzzers and all deliveries will be delivered through a back door away from residents.

In her address, Professor Bashir emphasised the need to uphold the dignity of elderly people in nursing homes

“It’s not just about the healthcare – it’s also about the love and respect that goes with it. They are a most important group in our community who throughout their lives have built this country.

We are told frequently that we have a good economy but we have to remember that it was built by the hard work of our older generations,” she said

The facility is named after Ida Southwood, Hammond Care’s first employee who began working as company secretary for Hammond Pioneer Homes in the 1930s.