ECL Braintree Older People Day Centre

At ECL, we recognise the importance of keeping our customers connected to the communities they live in. Braintree Day Centre is just a short walk from the heart of the town, where boutique shops, cafes and restaurants are plentiful. The High Street is largely pedestrianised, making it accessible for all, so customers can often be found enjoying a coffee or light lunch nearby.

The day centre backs onto Braintree recreation ground, and we’re close to the River Blackwater where we accompany customers on picturesque riverside walks.

Braintree Museum is also within easy reach, displaying a treasure trove of artefacts and running regular themed days which are always popular with the customers we support, as is the on-site café.

Getting to ECL Braintree is easy thanks to excellent public transport links. With a bus stop just outside the day centre, journeys into Braintree or further afield to neighbouring Halstead and Witham couldn’t be simpler.

We are fully accessible, with wheelchair-friendly facilities and a trusty Sara Stedy transfer aid to make moving around the site safer, as well as an overhead tracking hoist for assisting customers in the bathroom.

We can adapt our staff support ratios to the needs of our customers and are also able to assist adults with medication during their days with us. Among our team, we have professionals qualified in enteral feeding and can provide care for people with Alzheimer’s or dementia. We also care for people with Parkinson’s, mental ill health and learning disabilities.

All the facilities at Braintree Day Centre are designed to cater to the diverse needs and interests of our customers, who include those with Alzheimer’s, dementia and learning disabilities, as well as older people with complex health conditions.

The centre has a small but perfectly formed garden where soft fruits and tomatoes are grown, as well as an array of herbs to provide a lovely, sensory experience.

The main room is always a hive of activity. A hub for entertainment, here you’ll find a large TV on which customers can view their favourite films, as well as iPads for internet browsing and Alexa devices for listening to music.

OMI, an interactive LED light is also available, flooding the surfaces with colour to create a stunning kaleidoscope effect, known to increase participation and social engagement for people with dementia.

Our schedule of activities at Braintree Day Centre has been designed with all our customers in mind, whether that be an older person with limited mobility, someone living with dementia or Alzheimer’s, or an adult with learning disabilities.

We want to ensure that all our customers can actively participate, which is why we encourage input from the people we support to shape our activity programme. The schedule is regularly reviewed and adapted to suit the individual’s evolving needs and interests.

Braintree Day Centre hosts daily Chair Fit sessions, organises lively games of musical bingo and arranges guided trips into town.

Customers can also join in with cookery and baking lessons, take part in fun quizzes, and get stuck into a whole host of arts and crafts projects. Our flexible roster of activities aims to promote the maintenance of cognitive skills, provide opportunities for valuable social interaction, and allow people to express their creativity.

We’re pleased to be able to offer doll therapy sessions at Braintree Day Centre, allowing customers to nurture – an activity proven to encourage therapeutic engagement, increase happiness, and reduce episodes of distress. Our regular visits from local therapy cats and dogs are also hugely beneficial in dementia care, never failing to raise smiles and spark conversation about customers’ own beloved pets.

Our highly skilled specialists are dedicated to creating a warm, positive atmosphere at Braintree Day Centre. They are experienced in supporting older people with sensory impairments, learning disabilities, dementia, and Alzheimer's but also understand that caregivers require support as well. That’s why our services cater to the needs of our customers and carers, recognising the importance of taking time out to reset and recharge.

Both the day centre and the schedule of activities we’ve curated have been carefully conceived to foster independence and improve the overall wellbeing of our customers. You’ll always find a hot two-course meal on offer, because whether on or offsite, we want everyone to feel fed, fulfilled and happy during their time with us.