The Minister of State for Care, Caroline Dinenage MP, has visited The Royal Star & Garter Home in Solihull to see the specialist care it provides.

The Minister was given a tour by The Royal Star & Garter Homes’ Chief Executive Andy Cole and Home Manager Cheryl Harbourne on 5 November.

During her visit, the Minister was shown around Roundel House, which provides round-the-clock specialist care for people living with dementia, and the activities room, where she saw the day care service in action.

She also viewed residents painting poppies on 100 pebbles as the Home prepared for Remembrance Day and the Armistice centenary on Sunday (11 November).

The tour finished with a visit to the Physiotherapy department, before Ms Dinenage chatting to several residents.

The Minister said afterwards: “It was a great pleasure to visit The Royal Star & Garter Home in Solihull and see first-hand the excellent, specialist care they provide to our military veterans living with disabilities or dementia. Their new day care service is a real asset to this community and will enable more veterans to benefit from their quality care.”

The Royal Star & Garter Homes’ Chief Executive Andy Cole said: “It was wonderful to welcome Caroline Dinenage to our Solihull Home. We’re always looking at how we can adapt our care to meet the needs of veterans living with disabilities, so we’re really pleased the Minister was able to see our new day care service in full swing. This is allowing us to help even more veterans.”

Joan, a resident at the Home, spent time talking to Ms Dinenage. She said: “It was very nice that she came down to see us. She’s a lovely lady. She was very approachable and easy to talk to.”

The Star & Garter Club day care service runs Monday – Friday with dedicated days for people living with dementia. The day care service runs in tandem with care provided to 60 residents living at the Home.

The tour was arranged by Vic Rayner, Executive Director at the National Care Forum.

The Royal Star & Garter Homes in Solihull was rated ‘Outstanding’ in its last report by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

In August 2018, it retained its Level 1 Accreditation from Dementia Care Matters for its exceptional dementia care. Only 1% of care homes within the UK achieve a Level 1 distinction.