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We were asked by London Borough of Camden to prepare a feasibility study for new care homes for older people in their borough. There will be two new homes on two sites. Both homes will be for frail older people, a large proportion of whom have dementia. A good building involves those who use it. We carried out three visioning workshops as part of a large consultation process. Various groups were invited to attend these visioning workshops, including care home managers, residents, LBC staff and people who had indicated an interest in setting up working groups. Further consultation will occur with smaller, more distinct groups. At the first visioning workshop, disposable cameras were handed out to those who wanted to take photos of things they wanted incorporated into their care home. These photos were turned into postcards, for others to write a comment on the back and send in to us. We wanted all to have an opportunity to voice their ideas in their own quiet time. The second visioning workshop involved travelling to the two existing care homes to make observations about what works well, and what does not. The main discussion at the visioning workshops focussed on: what they live about their home, their garden, their community, memories of the local area and shared living spaces. This has been an invaluable source of inspiration for these two new care homes.

London Borough of Camden won a Beacon award this year for their engagement with older people, based on our consultation.