HEANOR PARK - CIRCADIAN LIGHTING SOLUTION THROUGHOUT

Heanor Park is a new-build care home in Derbyshire and the eighth home in the Ashmere Care Home family. The 60 care beds are split over five ‘households’ offering general elderly residential care, specialist elderly dementia care, and five luxury suites.

BRIEF

Heanor Park made a commitment to use new technology to improve the operation and facilities of the home for residents and staff. They required a lighting solution that would help address this.

Our brief was to support human circadian cycles and therefore improve sleep patterns as well as the comfort and general wellbeing of residents through lighting.

SOLUTION

An amBX Circadian Plus solution for spectrum-control lighting was designed to fit the brief and installed. The Circadian Plus solution provides complete control of the colour spectrum of visible daylight through multiple colour channels in each light. This enables precise delivery of the right colour mix at the right time of day for human circadian cycles.

Over 400 colour-spectrum lights have been installed at Heanor Park in all the bedrooms, corridors, common areas, and bathrooms to ensure that residents benefit from the circadian lighting to the maximum extent. An amBX SmartCore system manages every light and each colour setting according to parameters provided by amBX’s Circadian Lighting adviser Lorraine Calcott, IEng MILP IALD (CLD) MSLL (It Does Lighting).

The algorithm is designed to run 24 hours x 7 days and is suitable for elderly residents with little or no ability to get outdoors, with minimal exposure to natural daylight. Starting in the morning with the highest light levels and a target of around 750 lux or greater, depending on individual designs, the strongest circadian activating light content is delivered within the space between 7 am and 10 am by precise spectral control and broadly equivalent to a CCT range of 6000k to 8000k. The colour mix is blended to taper the blue content component towards the afternoon and then faded out whilst maintaining as close as possible to a white light in the region of 3000k.  The intensity would then drop to around 600 lux.   

After around 4 pm, the algorithm shifts towards an evening colour blend setting that is more equivalent to CCT of 3000k. Later in the evening, it will move into the night-time setting at the warm end of the spectrum with reduced intensity levels.

Individual rooms can be adjusted to accommodate specific requirements for intensity levels or other needs. The system responds to staff intervention needs by immediately switching to full brightness when activated via a nurse-call system or switch.

A range of lighting fixture designs and types were developed by amBX partner Swann Lighting to combine blending with the design aesthetic for the home as well as effective delivery of the spectrum-controlled light.

RESULT

There has been a significant reduction in the number of falls a care home would usually experience, Heanor Park only had 2 falls within the first 3 months of opening. In addition, as the lighting helps to entrain residents circadian rhythms Heanor Park employees have noted residents are showing a greater level of engagement, they appear to feel more active and alert at the right times of the day and then as the lighting changes to mimic natural daylight throughout the day, by night time residents feel ready for bed and are getting a better nights sleep.

As a result of this employees are able to encourage more of a routine for residents to make night shifts in particular much easier as residents are sleeping, and their body clocks are synced correctly. For staff working in these conditions they have commented how surprisingly they don’t feel tired, are still able to carry out tasks, and feel alert as the circadian lighting is not installed in the staff room and office. For employees working dayshift the circadian lighting is also entraining their circadian rhythm, meaning they also get a better night’s sleep.

TESTIMONIALS

‘We’re seeing a greater level of engagement from the residents during the day because the lighting is helping their body clock become alert and ready for the day…we’re not seeing people falling asleep in their chair or not wanting to engage in activities’ - David Poxton, Managing Director

‘We’re incredibly proud of how this project has turned out and the end result that we’re seeing within Heanor Park care home. Really for us seeing what can be achieved, it is absolutely something that we would put in the refurbishment of our existing care homes and also any new projects that we have going forward’ - David Poxton, Managing Director

‘We’ve only had a couple of falls within the last 3 months since we’ve been open which is great for residents wellbeing’ - Catherine Bower, Care Home Manager

‘This is the future, I think it has revolutionised the care home!’ - Michelle Baker, Deputy Manager

Client: Ashmere Care Homes - System: amBX SmartCore Circadian Plus - Lighting: Swann Lighting Bio-enhance range - Designer: Lorraine Calcott, ItDoesLIghting - Contractor: Three Peaks (main), Hayward Electrical (MEP)