A nursing home has installed sensory boards on corridor walls to engage residents with dementia and soothe anxiety and restlessness.
Rawreth Court nursing home in Rayleigh is run by Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (EPUT) and provides care for older people, including those with dementia.
The boards have sensory activities and games, which offer a calming distraction if residents feel restless.
Nursing home manager Alina Kutraite said the textures and interactive elements can also trigger positive memories and provide comfort and reassurance.
She said: “I am delighted with the recent enhancements to our nursing home environment, which offer us another way to provide meaningful activities for people with dementia.
“The sensory boards will greatly benefit our residents and encourage social interaction and connection.
“They also help to make the care home environment more engaging and less intimidating, and add to the variety of meaningful activities we offer for people to take part in.”
Activity coordinator Claire Davis said: “When residents are walking around the home they can interact with the boards at their own leisure, which supports their fine motor skills.
“We also take residents to the boards, especially if they are feeling agitated, to provide comfort and reduce their anxiety.”
The boards were funded by the Trust’s charity, EPUT Charitable Funds, which supports initiatives that enhance the care and experience of patients, families and staff.
September is World Alzheimer’s Month, which highlights the devastating impact of dementia. The Alzheimer’s Society says someone in the UK develops dementia every three minutes and one in three people born in the UK today will go on to develop dementia in their lifetime.
For information on support available for people with dementia and how you can help beat dementia, visit the Alzheimer’s Society website.
Visit our Dementia Care Homes page for more information about Rawreth Court.
About EPUT:
- EPUT has a vision to be the leading health and wellbeing service in the provision of mental health and community care: Who we are – Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust
- EPUT provides services to more than 100,000 patients at any one time and our staff are focused on providing high quality care in often complex situations.
- The organisation has invested in inpatient facilities and community services to make them safer and more therapeutic. We have extensively invested in technology to keep patients safer, enhanced training, and are continuously working with our staff, patients, their families and carers to use learning and best practice to enhance our quality of care.
- While there is more to do, the Trust has made significant progress through innovation:
- Our 111 mental health crisis phone line ensures people in need can access support 24 hours a day, 365 days a year
- People with lived experience have been employed in designated roles across the Trust, ensuring patient voice is heart of the organisation and all that we do.
- A number of new initiatives have been launched, helping people access the support they need when they need it most. These include a mental health urgent care department, By Your Side maternal mental health service, Rough Sleeper team, mental health crisis ambulance cars, virtual wards and neuromodulation service.
- EPUT was formed on 1 April 2017 and provides community health, mental health and learning disability services across Essex, Luton and Bedfordshire and Suffolk. We employ more than 7,200 staff working across more than 200 sites.
- To read more about our priorities and commitments to deliver the highest quality and safest care possible, visit https://eput.nhs.uk/about-us/2023-2028-strategic-plan/