The Royal Connaught Care Home is set to offer residential care for people diagnosed with dementia.
The scheme is one of the central planks in a new business plan to boost occupancy levels and income for the institution by developing the levels of care provision on offer.
Currently the Connaught is only able to deliver care services to people who have not been formally diagnosed with the dementia.
Royal Connaught Care Home manager Emma Gershon said she wanted to make the service more holistic in its approach by reflecting the needs of the elderly population and offer a greater choice of provision of social care.
'Inevitably given the demographics of Alderney and increase in dementia there is going to be a need for this sort of residential care,' she said. 'We want to modernise and expand what the new Connaught can bring to people.'
Unlike registering the institution as a nursing home it will not duplicate services already provide, at the hospital for example.
'Staff will receive extra training and some relevant policies and procedures will be put in place,' said Ms Gershon. 'A Health and Social Services Department inspector has already visited the Connaught and ascertained that it does meet the basic requirements for offering long term care of people with dementia, and the inspector will return later in the year for a final assessment, and hopefully, for registration.'
Another tranche of the new business is raising awareness of what else is on offer and how those services can be funded.
The Guernsey Bereavement Service has made three visits to Alderney over the past few months and would like to continue to help you. We are visiting the island again on
Tuesday, 23rd February 2024 and would invite anyone who feels they would like Bereavement Counselling to telephone the Bereavement Service Office on 257778 to make a time to meet one of our counsellors.