Here at The Meads we work alongside you in whatever reality you are in on that day and celebrate your uniqueness
Living with dementia is a journey. In The Meads we support you if this journey means that you live in a different reality which isn’t defined by the walls of our house. When our cognitive processes alter, we rely much more on our emotions and focus on how we feel and the things and people which are important to us and sometimes lose sight of daily essentials. That doesn’t mean we need to lose sight of you.
How we feel affects how we act and we believe that behind every action is a need to feel safe and loved. All of our staff are trained in our emotionally led approach and Positive Behaviour Support – we aim to make your experiences positive which will then reflect on how you experience life.
We become brothers, sisters, parents, children to you and celebrate the magic of the creative slant to life you share with us.
In The Meads you become a family member.
More about our approachWe all need to feel loved, valued, heard
The highest rating possible, consistently awarded
Colourful, tactile and comforting
We live and work together and have no barriers between staff and family
At The Meads we support 28 family members.
We all need the freedom to be ourselves, to be accepted for who we are and loved.
It is a misconception that, if you live with dementia, you lose this desire. If anything, it becomes more prevalent as you are led by how you feel and are sometimes not able to rationalise the impact of your actions and emotions. We give you the opportunity to express these feelings – sometimes these are angry and frustrated, at other times they are joyous and creative – but, at all times, they bring the vibrancy to our house which creates a family. Our commitment to you is that we will continually work to make those feelings positive and for you to feel loved and part of something important.
We are a nursing home and have qualified nurses on duty 24 hours a day. We have a policy of ‘growing our own’ – this means that we identify staff who understand our ethos and have a passion for what they do and we support them through their nursing. This means that they offer clinical expertise balanced with an understanding of the emotional impacts of living with dementia. Our existing nurses also have specialist degrees in Frailty. We have students on placement throughout the year from three local universities.
Our wider team – including support staff, maintenance, domestic, catering and laundry – all receive mandatory training in the importance of Quality of Life and how to change the moment so you live well.
We work alongside outside services such as GPs, Dementia Outreach, Primary Integrated Services, Speech and Language Therapy, OTs and Physiotherapists to ensure that we access any support you need.
All of us are on a journey and it is important that, as we approach the end of our life, we have the opportunity to both live and die well. While our vibrant community promotes community involvement and meaningful occupation, we also care about respecting the dignity of the dying process both for you and your loved ones.
We will work with you and your loved ones to create an advance care plan so we know how you would like to be supported and can make it happen the way you choose. When the time comes, you are in charge and your advance care plan helps us to make sure you are surrounded by the people you love, in an environment in which you are comfortable and kept pain free
We are in the process of gaining the Gold Standards Accreditation, a national recognition of quality end of life support.
Zebbie Chilink, Clinical Lead Nurse – zebbie@landermeads.com / zebbie.chilink@nhs.net / 07547 963867
When I was growing up, I constantly needed medical attention. I underwent two major procedures that resulted in complications and instilled in me a desire to care for others. It became a personal gratitude to reciprocate the care I received during my time of vulnerability.
In 1994-1998, I studied Nursing and Midwifery at University of Malawi and worked as a Nurse Manager at the Children’s Oncology Unit at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital (Malawi).
In May 2021, I joined the Landermeads family as an RN, caring for the elderly with dementia with integrity, empathy, good communication skills, patience, a positive attitude, and sensitivity to individual needs.
This journey has shown me that our support should centre around promoting the needs and well-being of those in our care by focusing on what the individual has rather than what they may have lost, on how they feel rather than what they recall, viewing things from their point of view, and identifying their coping strategies.
Since joining Landermeads, I have never looked back. It has brought me immense joy and satisfaction. I am always looking for ways to improve the care for all the family including staff and colleagues.
Mandy Giles, House Leader – mandy@landermeads.com / mandy.giles4@nhs.net / 07749 544874
In my Younger years I spent time supporting my Grandad during his end-of-life care and later went on to support my Grandma as she became older and more frail.
This in turn over the years has given me a great passion to support people to live and die well. In my 30s I worked for 10 years in domiciliary care within the community supporting people to live independently in their own homes.
I came to work at Landermeads 12 years ago and am now the House Leader of The Meads. I have a real passion to ensure everyone within our house is treated equally allowing them to help with every day living and accessing the community to further enhance the well being of the family we support.
Clinical Lead Nurse
House Leader
Coming to live in one of our houses or supported living can mean leaving behind the things which have made us secure.
We believe that quality of life comes from understanding our shared vulnerability and working together as a family in which we celebrate who you are.
