STAFF at Craigielea care home in Gateshead marked Dementia Action Week with a series of activities, including a session that immersed them in the world of living with dementia.
They were joined by family members for a Virtual Dementia Tour, provided by Training2Care. It is a scientifically and medically proven method of giving a person with a healthy brain an experience of what dementia might be like, allowing them to enter the world of the person and understand what simple changes need to be made to really improve lives of people with dementia.
The Tour helps people to have a far greater understanding of the behaviours and needs of people living with dementia, using sensory tools to enable them to experience for a few minutes what a person with dementia experiences all the time.
Sarah Johnson, deputy home manager at Craigielea, said: “This was the most amazing, unsettling and illuminating training. To actually walk in the shoes of someone with dementia for just a few minutes changes your whole outlook on supporting them.
“I believe that every single one of us who took part came away with a far greater understanding of what it is like to live with dementia, something we could only have imagined previously.
“We will certainly be making some changes to our home and its care and support ina way I think will be of great benefit to our residents.”
In addition to the Virtual Dementia Tour, the home made keyrings with residents’ photos and forget me nots in, gave families gift bags with forget me not seeds and chocolates, used forget me nots to decorate the home and had a special high tea, with all staff wearing blue to recognise dementia.
Colleagues Jackie Walker and Mel McColl are pictured preparing for the training.