By . Stephanie Linning . A replica village, complete with shops, a post office and a village green, has been built to help dementia sufferers who are 'stuck in the past'. Staff at Baylham Care Centre in Ipswich, Suffolk, came up with the quirky idea when they noticed that residents with dementia took comfort in completing everyday tasks and activities that felt familiar. The village boasts a butcher's, bakery, greengrocer's, sweet shop, haberdashery and post office, all designed to look like shops from the 1950s - when many of the residents were young adults. Memory lane: The village at Baylham Care Centre in Ipswich, Suffolk has a post office, sweet shop and greengrocers, which have been built around a small green where the staff planted flowers and bushes . Daily chores: Staff have also left half-finished tasks, like this washing that needs hanging up, around the centre to help residents who suffer from dementia . It also has a railway and bus station - complete with a waiting room and suitcases - all built around a village green. The idea was to create a space that felt familiar to residents with dementia, who often have better long-term memory than short-term. It gives them somewhere to carry out everyday tasks that they might miss, or chores that they feel they need to complete - such as picking up some milk or hanging up the washing. This sense of purpose can keep sufferers calm and help alleviate the distress and confusion they can often feel. One resident spends a lot of time sitting on the bench in the station waiting room - which staff said reminded him of journeys he used to take as a boy. Sandie Oxborrow, manager of the centre, said: 'The village gives the residents the ability to have a normal life with meaningful engagements rather than just activities which fill in time. Familiar feeling: The shopfronts have all been designed based on how they would have looked in the 1950s - around the time when many of the residents were young adults . Place to relax: Residents helped decorate the village green with homemade bunting. This sense of purpose that it offers residents can help alleviate the distress and confusion dementia sufferers can often feel . 'It's important for them to be busy and have a purpose. 'Often they say, "I need to go to the shops", so we created the shopping village. 'In the middle of the village we have created a park where we have planted some flowers and bushes so people feel like they've gone to the park to feed the ducks.' The village is not the first idea the carers have come up with to make their residents feel more comfortable. They also place half-finished chores around the house so if residents forget what they are doing they are able to assume they were planning to take up the activity. Comforting: One of the rooms inside has been transformed into a train station waiting room. Staff said that one man spends a lot of time sitting on one of the benches as it reminds him of journeys he took as a child . At the top of the stairs rests a pile of half-finished knitting, so if a resident forgets on the way upstairs what they wanted to do there is a task waiting for them. Prema Fairburn, who runs the care home for its 53 residents, said: 'We are always trying to think of new and innovative ideas to help them. 'They live for the moment and just having simple tasks, such as going to the shop or waiting for a train, is a simple idea but is very relevant to how they lived and has a calming and soothing effect. 'Just giving them a pram or a washing line which wouldn't be available in other homes helps them do something they remember. 'It's been an ongoing process but it has already made a huge difference to even our more challenging residents. 'They even helped make the village by putting up bunting. 'They have much better long term memories than short term and it really helps those that may be stuck in the past.'
The village at Baylham Care Centre in Ipswich, Suffolk, is based on one from the 1950s .
It boasts a butcher's, bakery, sweet shop, post office and a train station .
Sense of purpose that the village offers can help those with dementia .
By . Stephanie Linning . A replica village, complete with shops, a post office and a village green, has been built to help dementia sufferers who are 'stuck in the past'. Staff at Baylham Care Centre in Ipswich, Suffolk, came up with the quirky idea when they noticed that residents with dementia took comfort in completing everyday tasks and activities that felt familiar. The village boasts a butcher's, bakery, greengrocer's, sweet shop, haberdashery and post office, all designed to look like shops from the 1950s - when many of the residents were young adults. Memory lane: The village at Baylham Care Centre in Ipswich, Suffolk has a post office, sweet shop and greengrocers, which have been built around a small green where the staff planted flowers and bushes . Daily chores: Staff have also left half-finished tasks, like this washing that needs hanging up, around the centre to help residents who suffer from dementia . It also has a railway and bus station - complete with a waiting room and suitcases - all built around a village green. The idea was to create a space that felt familiar to residents with dementia, who often have better long-term memory than short-term. It gives them somewhere to carry out everyday tasks that they might miss, or chores that they feel they need to complete - such as picking up some milk or hanging up the washing. This sense of purpose can keep sufferers calm and help alleviate the distress and confusion they can often feel. One resident spends a lot of time sitting on the bench in the station waiting room - which staff said reminded him of journeys he used to take as a boy. Sandie Oxborrow, manager of the centre, said: 'The village gives the residents the ability to have a normal life with meaningful engagements rather than just activities which fill in time. Familiar feeling: The shopfronts have all been designed based on how they would have looked in the 1950s - around the time when many of the residents were young adults . Place to relax: Residents helped decorate the village green with homemade bunting. This sense of purpose that it offers residents can help alleviate the distress and confusion dementia sufferers can often feel . 'It's important for them to be busy and have a purpose. 'Often they say, "I need to go to the shops", so we created the shopping village. 'In the middle of the village we have created a park where we have planted some flowers and bushes so people feel like they've gone to the park to feed the ducks.' The village is not the first idea the carers have come up with to make their residents feel more comfortable. They also place half-finished chores around the house so if residents forget what they are doing they are able to assume they were planning to take up the activity. Comforting: One of the rooms inside has been transformed into a train station waiting room. Staff said that one man spends a lot of time sitting on one of the benches as it reminds him of journeys he took as a child . At the top of the stairs rests a pile of half-finished knitting, so if a resident forgets on the way upstairs what they wanted to do there is a task waiting for them. Prema Fairburn, who runs the care home for its 53 residents, said: 'We are always trying to think of new and innovative ideas to help them. 'They live for the moment and just having simple tasks, such as going to the shop or waiting for a train, is a simple idea but is very relevant to how they lived and has a calming and soothing effect. 'Just giving them a pram or a washing line which wouldn't be available in other homes helps them do something they remember. 'It's been an ongoing process but it has already made a huge difference to even our more challenging residents. 'They even helped make the village by putting up bunting. 'They have much better long term memories than short term and it really helps those that may be stuck in the past.'
complete with shops, a post office and a village Care Centre in Ipswich, Suffolk, came up with the village boasts a butcher's, bakery, adults. Memory lane: The village at Baylham Care This sense of purpose that it offers residents been transformed into a train station waiting