HOME Instead East Northants is a local home care company who is working with Freedom Leisure to train all their staff across East Northants to be dementia aware.
The Active Community team at Freedom Leisure recognises the importance of having an understanding of dementia with the growing number of people being diagnosed and recognises that it is important for all their staff to be dementia aware.
The Alzheimer’s Society has said that by 2021 over a million people in the UK will have dementia. If we can encourage more people in the community to be dementia aware this could help so many more people to understand the everyday problems for families with a family member or friend with the disease and to give an awareness of the growing number of people with dementia.
Margaret Brown, Home Instead’s trainer has found it rewarding to pass on her knowledge to the staff to enable them to recognise dementia and help someone in an appropriate manner. If they see someone confused in the street they can confidently offer to help them, or if they have someone turn up at the pool or gym, they will confidently support them, recognising that the person may have dementia and will be able to assist in a calm manner without the person getting distressed. The knowledge they have gained will enable them to support the person in the right way and allow them to feel happy and safe.
It would be lovely to be able to encourage people to carry on with their favourite activities for as long as possible. It’s the little things that we take for granted that can be difficult for someone with dementia. One of the ways we show this is by our ‘How many steps to make a cup of tea?’ board showing that if we miss out one step, the end result is not a cup of tea. If you really think about the process there are 10 steps to achieve a perfect cup of tea. The tea exercise is designed to show how a simple task can be extremely confusing to a person with dementia.
Our CAREGivers are fully trained to support our clients with dementia to give them the quality of life needed to remain in their own home.
Freedom Leisure and Home Instead will, from 25 April, be starting Dementia Health Walks at Barnwell Country Park, meeting at 10am. This will encourage people who may be isolated because of dementia to get outside and walk with a group and enjoy the fresh air, the smells of the countryside, blooming flowers and chirping birds and feel the sun on their faces (hopefully) with spring just around the corner. This incidentally is great for vitamin D and melanin levels. If you know someone who would love to get outdoors why not come along and give it a go. There will be a Memory Cafe beforehand.
If you would like any other information contact, Home Instead East Northants on 01933 678775
WE are delighted to announce in nearly eight years of service to the community over 1,000 local people have been cared for in their own home by our dedicated CAREGivers.
At Home Instead East Northants we offer well trained staff who provide companionship, home help, personal care, dementia care and end-of-life care. They are also trained in catheter care, stoma care and long-term illnesses.
We are thrilled with the early success of our Companionship Cafes which were launched last month. Marketing Manager Marie Franks and Social Media Networker Lucy Darnell are enjoying running the cafes and meeting members of the local community.
Marks and Spencer at Rushden Lakes and Sainsburys in Wellingborough have kindly given an area in their cafes once a month to hold the Companionship Cafes.
They are giving people an opportunity to meet in pleasant surroundings to chat and reminisce with the opportunity to do some crafting, play bingo, quizzes and much more. Lucy said: “It was interesting to hear about their childhood in Northamptonshire and what their life was like during the war years.”