Virtual Dementia Experience
At Home Instead we are always looking for new innovations for learning so we can enhance the care that we give our clients to live well in their own homes
Training to care for people with dementia in the community
At Home Instead, we pride ourselves on our dementia care and we are always looking for ways to improve, so we were delighted to invite our partners from local businesses and community leaders to to join our office team in a Virtual Dementia Experience. Having toured the UK, the virtual dementia bus operated by Training2Care gives participants a deeply immersive experience in order to increase empathy and understanding of the condition which can in turn lead to new approaches to how we support people living with Alzheimer’s or other dementias at home and in the community. We were very pleased to have support from the Mayor of Dudley, Councillors from Halesowen and and Hagley as well as other health professionals from the Wychbury Medical Centre, Meadowbook Surgery, and Crystal Gateway Dementia Centre.
Essential services also came along to understand how they can provide better support for people that they meet through their work and we had some very productive conversations with representatives from West Mercia Police about how they can help people with dementia who may get lost or confused as well as discussions on how to help people in emergency situations in the home with West Midlands Fire Service.
Training to provide outstanding care for people living with dementia in their own homes
To provide a virtual experience of some of the effects of Alzheimer’s and other dementias, participants entered a darkened room with unusual light effects, whilst also wearing glasses that create distorted vision and headphones which produce sounds which have been scientifically tested to replicate background noises which might be heard by someone with dementia. Thick gloves made tasks extremely difficult and special insoles made walking very uncomfortable. After just 8 minutes, participants reported that they felt “confused”, “disorientated”, “frightened”, “frozen” and “angry”. Whilst many things were learned and we have many ideas to implement, all agreed that the thing that will remain longest in the memory is the feeling that they had during the experience. The saying that “people with dementia may forget what you do and they may forget who you are but they will never forget how you make them feel” is so true and perhaps this is the learning that will lead to the greatest benefits in the care that we provide.
The insights from the experience also reinforced the fear and the struggle that many people have when they move into an unfamiliar setting such as a care home so we ended the day feeling even more committed to treating everyone as an individual, building relationships with familiar care professionals and remembering the person as they were before they had dementia, so that we can help to bring joy and happiness into their home as we support people on their dementia journey.
