Purpose Built Vs. Home From Home
One of the big questions people need to consider when looking for a care home for their loved one or themselves is do they want to go to a purpose built care home or one (like our care home here at Birchwood House) that isn’t purpose built? Much of it comes down to personal preference – we obviously love the homely environment here at Birchwood but have done our best to offer a balanced opinion!
Furnishings
A purpose built care home will have purpose built furniture to match the rest of the home! Whilst this looks smart, here at Birchwood we have a range of furniture and decorations – many residents even bring their own furniture so if they want to sit in their same favorite, comfortable chair that they have sat in for the last 30 years they can! Anything we can do to make our home feel like their home, we will do.
Facilities
Purpose built care homes will often have excellent facilities but this usually comes at a cost… if you’re looking for swimming pools on site, a café or even a cinema then you’re likely to be better placed in a purpose built home. Here at Birchwood although we don’t have all these facilities we still keep our residents extremely active with a range of activities, and have our hairdresser who comes once a week so you certainly won’t be missing out!
Size
The majority of purpose built care homes will be large with many residents whereas we have 31 bedrooms. This means that we’re smaller than many purpose built care homes. We have kind, caring staff who know all of the residents well and our small size promotes a real family feel in the home which we believe is one of our real strengths and why our residents love being with us.
Surroundings
Our care home is situated on the outskirts of Tunbridge Wells with absolutely beautiful gardens for our residents to either roam, sit outside and enjoy, or watch their grandchildren play when they come to visit! Many purpose built care homes maximise the space in terms of rooms and facilities so may not have the same scenic gardens we do.
Individuality
A purpose built care home will have rooms built to set sizes and they will usually be well equipped and all look pretty similar. Our rooms are a range of shapes and sizes with some on the upper floors benefitting from the sloping eaves that comes from a traditional building like ours.
So what choice to make?
Hopefully the above gives a bit more of an insight into the difference between our home and a purpose built one. As stated earlier in the article, choosing where to go really does come down to personal preference – if you want a care home that has an enormous range of facilities and a modern feel then we’re probably not for you, however if you want to live in a care home that offers that ‘home from home’ family feel then we would be a great option. If that is the case then feel free to book a visit – we would love to meet you!
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