A TRAINING facility specifically designed to emulate the home of an elderly person has been unveiled by a Gloucestershire-based home care provider.

Utilising an empty office at its Stroud headquarters, DoCare created a room complete with bed, chair, clothes and ornaments which will be used to help staff gain valuable experience in what it will be like when they are out delivering care.

The room has items like photos and ornaments which give clues to what the client – dubbed Doris DoCare - likes and is interested in.

Potential hazards have also been set up which trainees will be expected to identify.

“We’ve not heard of this being done anywhere else before, but it is an idea we have had for some time and we are lucky enough to have the space,” said DoCare director Una Mills.

“We’ve converted an empty office at the end of our training room into a ‘home’ for our honorary (if imaginary) client, Doris DoCare.

“The room contains many of the features we see in our real clients’ homes, including a hospital bed, pictures, phone, furniture and ornaments.

“We even have a toy dog with a food bowl, as many of our clients have toy animals because they are no longer able to have the real thing.”

More items are due to be added to the room, including a walking frame and a shop dummy, which trainees can practise dressing, moving and handling.