Cheshire Intranet
Richmond Cheshire House
Contact Details
| Manager: | Ciara McShane |
|---|---|
| Address: | Richmond Park, Monkstown, Co. Dublin |
| Tel: | 01 280 6761 |
| Fax: | 01 280 6774 |
| Email: | ciara.mcshane@cheshire.ie |
About
Richmond Cheshire House, opened in 1992 on land donated to the Cheshire Foundation by Mrs. Briscoe, is located in the heart of vibrant Monkstown village in south Co. Dublin, with its variety of shops, restaurants, post office, churches, pub and chemist. Within 2 miles in either direction are the busy, fully accessible shopping centres of Dun Laoghaire and Blackrock. The Monkstown/Salthill DART is close by and there are regular bus services. Richmond's own vehicles also facilitate service users with transport. The modern singlestorey building of Richmond Cheshire House is spacious and bright, set in landscaped gardens at the end of a quiet, tree-lined avenue, suitable for wheelchairs. In 2000, 5 selfcontained apartments were built in the grounds, extending the range of accommodation available to service users. There are 2 further self-contained apartments located in a nearby community housing development, partially supported by Richmond’s services.
Facilities
- 18 large single rooms, each with a patio door accessing a wide paved verandah and the gardens.
- 5 self-contained modern apartments, each consisting of a sitting room/bedroom, with en suite bathroom and kitchen area.
- 2 self-contained apartments, located in a nearby local community housing development, each apartment consisting of a sitting room, bedroom, kitchen and bathroom.
- Several communal rooms, including a large kitchen and dining room/sitting room area, small private sitting room and spacious reception area and hallway - for the benefit of all service users.
- Day Activity Centre provides bright roomy facilities for users and members of the local community alike to enjoy social and recreational activities.
Services Available
- 24-hour care and support available from trained staff.
- Respite care is available in a single room in the main building, with access to all Richmond's therapies and activities.
- Richmond's Day Activity Centre is a big, bright, conservatory-type room, which is highly accessible and can accommodate up to 40 people. A major social or leisure event is organised every fortnight.
- All kinds of activities are carried out here regularly for service users and also for members of the local community, organised by Richmond's full-time Recreational Facilitator.
- There are weekly art classes, crafts and therapy sessions.
- Many kinds of therapy are arranged on a sessional basis, including physiotherapy, speech and language, behavioural and diversional therapies.
- The presence of a part-time Speech and Language therapist ensures the best communications possible for all concerned.
- Staff are also trained on eating and swallowing disorders, which can affect communications.
- Support staff are trained and employed from a FÁS Community Employment Scheme.
- Training courses are arranged for some users, such as the National Adult Literacy Agency for ongoing learning in literacy and written language; another user attends a communication group in Trinity College Dublin once a week.
- The Boccia team, formed in 1996, consists of service users from Richmond Cheshire House and from other parts of Ireland. (Boccia is a form of indoor bowls, played with soft balls and with the aid of a ramp and ramp assistant.)
- The team trains locally every second weekend, with meals, accommodation and transport facilities provided by Richmond House.
- After its success in the Sydney Paralympics 2000, with two members winning gold medals, the team is busy training for the 2004 event.
- The wider plan is to set up a Cheshire National Boccia League, involving other Cheshire centres in the activities.
- Richmond's daily minibus service facilitates users in getting to and from their appointments and social activities.
Community Links
- Richmond's Day Activity Centre is available for local community groups and organisations for their meetings and social activities, all of which widens the scope of social interaction for Richmond's users.
- A disability awareness programme is run in schools and colleges in south Co. Dublin, with service users from Richmond House as part of the teaching group.
- The programme is aimed at giving students a deeper understanding of the life, needs, employment and access difficulties encountered by wheelchair users in their daily lives.
- Another information/awareness service provided by Richmond is in the training of Transition Year students from local schools, who wish to gain experience in working with the disabled.
All Cheshire services, in Ireland and worldwide, aspire to operate in keeping with the Cheshire ethos and in line with today’s standards for rights-based disability services. In particular, Cheshire services aim to listen carefully to people with disabilities and to try to meet the expectations of people using our services.
