Our Dementia Aged Care (Sensitive Care)

Some people living with dementia require extra support to experience well-being and continued growth.

Arcare has over 50 residences in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria. We are committed to providing a premium aged care experience. Our residences are built with safety in mind to support our community. All of our private suites are equipped with a private ensuite bathroom. Our residences have allied support professionals, nursing, catering, laundry and lifestyle options available for residents.

Our Relationship-First Approach focuses on connecting with residents and team members to build and maintain meaningful relationships.

Find a residence to support you

Talk to our team about our aged care residences that have dementia services near you.

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What is dementia care?

Caring for someone with dementia can be challenging. Memory loss is one of the most commonly recognised symptoms, but there are also many behavioural changes that a person may experience. Although every person is different, behaviour changes may include:

Aggressive behaviour.
Overreaction over seemingly small incidents.
Hoarding and searching for things they believe are missing.
Repetitive behaviour and cannot remember what they’ve said or done.
Wandering behaviour.
Difficulty undertaking daily activities such as toileting, eating meals and mobility.

Because of these behavioural changes, dementia care needs to be sensitive to their needs. Dementia specific aged care facilities need to be a calm and relaxing environment and follow a predictable routine. Our Sensitive Care Dementia wings provide this dementia specific aged care.

Our Sensitive Care dementia wing

Our Sensitive Care Community is focused on support and enablement rather than judgement and control. This includes how our team approach any expressions of distress that may be experienced by a resident.

People living with dementia can experience difficulty in communicating their feelings and preferences to others. Often feelings, moods and preferences are expressed non-verbally – through facial expression, protest, body language, tone of voice, etc.

We train our staff in dementia specific care and maintain a familiar roster of carers to minimise distress with our dementia aged care residents. Our dementia care is based on the Arcare Six Senses of security, continuity, belonging, purpose, fulfillment and significance.

We have a relationship first model of care, which means we value interdependent relationships between residents, clients, employees, volunteers and family members. We have Dedicated Assignments who are team members who work regular shifts with the same groups of residents so you have familiarity and continuity. This approach nurtures the mind, body, and soul of our dementia aged care residents.

Call our team on 1300 294 391 to find a residence that can support you.

Frequently asked questions about dementia aged care

When should someone with dementia go into a care home?

Dementia is a progressive disease, however the speed of deterioration varies from person to person. For some people, it might be a gradual progression from mild memory loss to more severe symptoms. For others, it might happen faster over a period of a few months.

Deciding about going into an aged care dementia wing can be difficult. To help you decide, it might be helpful to talk to your GP, Dementia Australia (which offers education sessions about preparing for residential aged care), other families and carers and your local Aged Care Assessment Team (ACAT). You will need an assessment to receive aged care services.

Do you offer respite aged care for dementia patients?

Caring for someone with dementia can be demanding. If you and your loved one aren’t ready for permanent aged care yet, another option is short term respite care. We have respite care beds in all of our sensitive care aged care facilities for dementia. Read more about our respite care services.

How big are your Sensitive Care facilities?

The size of our dementia specific aged care facilities depends on the residential care home. Talk to our team about your needs. It’s important that dementia patients live in a homelike environment and all the Arcare residences have large private suites and homelike dining and lounge areas. Mealtime is important at Arcare and we offer a delicious seasonal menu with fresh meals prepared in-house. Learn more about Life at Arcare.

What is your visitor policy in the dementia aged care wing?

Arcare is home to our residents and therefore we don’t have visiting hours. We encourage family and friends to visit whenever they can and to enjoy a meal with their loved one if they’re able.

However, if the site has an outbreak (eg. COVID) visiting hours are changed as required. Please contact your Arcare residence reception.

Would you like to know more about Arcare?

Arcare invites you to meet the residence team and experience the residence in person. Family and friends are welcome.

Request a tour