The Dower House difference

The Dower House difference

Author: Michaela Hillan

Choosing later life care, whether for yourself or a loved one, can be an emotional experience. Sadly, there is also no shortage of media stories about what happens when care goes wrong and you may be fearful that the wrong decision will put your loved one at risk.


Five reasons to choose The Dower House for later life care

If, like most people, you have never had to choose a care facility before you may also feel daunted by the wealth of information presented to you and find yourself wondering if you have asked the ‘right’ questions.

In this article, we share with you five reasons to choose The Dower House for later life care. You will also be able to download your copy of our free guide to choosing residential care. This guide is packed full of useful tips and suggests questions to ask when you are considering care homes for yourself or a loved one.

1) A home from home atmosphere

If you have started looking at residential care homes you may have noticed that some don’t look very homely. That’s not the case at The Dower House where we have worked hard to create a home from home atmosphere for our residents.

Over the years many residents and families have commented that The Dower House feels so much like home that it has eased the transition into residential care.

In normal circumstances* visitors are welcome at any time and we delight in hearing the laughter of families enjoying time together. Garden parties and festive celebrations are always much anticipated events enjoyed by residents and guests alike.

When you move to The Dower House you are encouraged to furnish your room with favourite items from home. This is an important part of the settling in process and helps to make a permanent move to care less of a wrench.

2) Exceptional staff to resident ratio

Having a high staff to resident ratio is important to deliver care in the way Mrs Lywood envisaged when she first opened The Dower House over 30 years ago. Indeed to this day the staff to resident ratio at The Dower House is significantly higher than other care homes.

In addition to our exceptional staff to resident ratio, The Dower House is very proud to boast a low level of staff turnover. Many of our team have been working here for years, allowing them to get to know our residents and build fond relationships with them.

An additional benefit of our low staff turnover and high staff ratio is the continuity of high quality care we provide that is further enhanced by our digital care management system. Digital care management means that our staff spend less time completing paperwork and more time caring for our residents.

3) An outstanding location

The Dower House is located in the heart of the Hampshire countryside, surrounded by extensive and beautifully maintained gardens. Many of our residents’ rooms open directly onto the gardens and all enjoy stunning views.

Our idyllic location is also conveniently located close to Winchester and major motorways making it easily accessible for visitors from London and across the country, whilst offering a wonderful variety of places to explore on days out.

4) Exciting activity timetables

There is never a dull moment at The Dower House with residents enjoying a rich and varied timetable of activities from arts & crafts to stimulating talks, gardening activities to music. There really is something for everyone. Of course that doesn’t mean you have to join in. There are plenty of peaceful places around the house and in the gardens to enjoy peaceful reflection or to settle down with a book.

5) Uncompromising ethos and values

The values and ethos that drove Mrs Lywood to open The Dower House years ago, still hold firm today. We are passionately uncompromising in our commitment to those values and upholding the ethos of the home.

Our overriding objective is to provide an enjoyable, safe, warm and homely environment. Residents are encouraged to live as independently as possible, with comfort, privacy, dignity and respect. This is maintained whilst also ensuring the highest quality of care is provided.

A delightful physical environment is of utmost importance to the well-being of our residents. For this reason we continually reinvest in The Dower House’s buildings and grounds to deliver an ongoing programme of improvement and maintenance.

Far and away one of the most heart-warming things about life at The Dower House is the wonderful sense of community. Staff from across the teams come together with residents sharing the common aim to make life at The Dower House fun, fulfilling and supportive.

What to look for when choosing a care home

As mentioned at the start, we understand that choosing a care home for a loved one can be an emotional and daunting journey. In order to help you make a well-informed decision, we have developed a comprehensive guide that outlines things to consider and questions to ask.

The guide helps you to uncover the ethos and beliefs that underpin different care homes and make a choice that resonates with your own values and priorities. You can download the guide here.

Learn more about life at The Dower House

To find out more about life at The Dower House , simply call 01962 882848 or visit our website to take a virtual tour of the home and grounds*.

*At the time of writing, the UK was in the early stages of lifting Covid-19 restrictions, including rules on visiting residents in care homes. We will resume full tours and unrestricted visits in due course and as appropriate to protecting the health and wellbeing of our residents and staff.


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