14 Sep Helping people with dementia stay active (World Alzheimer’s Month)
An activities coordinator in a care home for people with dementia has described how helping residents to stay active is essential to their health and wellbeing.
The Reverend Sandie Woolford helps to organise a regular programme of activities to meet the social, spiritual, emotional and physical needs of residents at Clifton Lodge in Balmoral Road, Westcliff.
Sandie has worked at Clifton Lodge for 11 years and has a background in holistic therapies, counselling and psychology. She is also an ordained minister and holds multi-faith services for residents.
She organises a wide variety of activities, including bingo, painting, games, exercise, pet therapy visits, music, meditation and tea parties. Families can also book the cinema room to watch a film with their relative, as well as contribute towards hairdressing and other pampering sessions for their loved ones.
These help not only to keep people busy and entertained but can help with their co-ordination skills, relaxation, social interaction, physical health, cognition, memory recall and feeling of wellbeing.
Music is one of the residents’ favourite activities and local singers and musicians regularly attend to perform, which encourages people to sing and dance.
Sandie said: “Remaining active within a care home is not just for wellbeing. It helps people to stay moving, as most find their movement declines during the different phases of dementia.
“This is why we are now incorporating music and movement into our activities at Clifton Lodge.
“I have recently completed a university course on music and movement and incorporated DREAM wellness training to help improve quality of life and quality of care for people with dementia, physical activity training and eating healthy into what we do.
“For our residents who can, we are working towards helping move to music to help with dexterity and cognition.
“This is something we all take for granted but it is not until we lose the ability that we can realise the struggles of others.”
Reading can spark memories and discussions, as well as be used as a meditative tool when combined with asking people to think about the pictures, sounds and feelings that stories evoke.
Sandie said: “We have reading materials of many genres and we also read aloud The Daily Sparkle, a reminiscence newspaper, which is especially helpful for those who are no longer able to read for themselves.
“During those listening sessions we have discussions, reminisce about the past, and take part in a quiz. It doesn’t matter if they don’t know the answer because they are gaining knowledge that is new to them, for the moments they remember them.”
Sandie, who has also cared for relatives and people in the community, has written a book called Day By Day: The Quality of an Active Life in a Nursing Home, based on her experiences and knowledge.
She said: “It explores what residents gain from taking part in activities, no matter how short the interaction.
“It’s about the activities that we all do or have done in the past but have never given much thought about how much people with dementia can gain from them.
“Whether it be one to one interaction, or a small group, to see people progress over time – no matter how small those steps are – is the greatest achievement.”
The staff and residents at Clifton Lodge feel like they are part of one big family and the activities benefit everyone because they bring people together.
Sandie said: “We do so much, we’re always on the go and it’s lovely here. Everyone engages with each other and the residents are lovely.
“If someone is feeling awkward or feeling out of sorts, we encourage them to join in and they do.
Anyone interested in reading Sandie’s book can find it on Amazon.
September is World Alzheimer’s Month, a campaign organised by Alzheimer’s Disease International to raise awareness of the impact of dementia.
Latest NHS figures show 487,432 people in England in June had been diagnosed with dementia. England has one of the highest dementia diagnosis rates in the world. Early diagnosis can ensure people receive support as quickly as possible.
