Dementia care
Creating the optimal space for dementia care
Namaste Care is a complex intervention that requires dementia care homes to change the way in which they deliver care on a day-to-day basis. Here, the Association for Dementia Studies, based at the University of Worcester, explains how it works
Caring well for people with advanced dementia is one of the biggest challenges faced by health and social care staff. Namaste Care is an approach to meeting this challenge that has shown promise in different parts of the world and is gaining popularity in the UK. It was developed in 2003 in the USA by
Joyce Simard and has been shown to reduce distress behaviours, pain, use of antipsychotics, hypnotics and depressive symptoms and inappropriate hospitalisation in people living with advanced dementia. The research team included the
Association for Dementia Studies based at the University of Worcester and was supported by the project collaborator group. The research conducted explored
the potential impact and cost of delivering Namaste Care in the UK context and learnt from five care home case studies about how to implement it successfully in a manner that would be sustained overtime. This approach is called Namaste Care Intervention-UK (NCI-UK). Namaste Care is particularly
beneficial for residents who are most affected by their dementia and it is intended to be integrated into usual care routines. Each day, following the provision of breakfast and necessary personal care, ‘Namaste’ residents are brought together into a dedicated ‘Namaste Space’ to be cared for by a single, specially-trained Namaste Care worker. This Namaste session lasts for one to two hours.
Anyone wishing to deliver NCI-UK
would require training, which is supported by the NCI-UK guidance manuals. However, for the purposes of this article, we wanted to share with you the learning we have gained from the research and the importance of creating the right environment. The information shared here has been taken from interviews and observations with staff, residents and visitors conducted as part of the research project. All identifying details have been anonymised.
The Namaste Care space The following recommendations to assist care homes with the set-up of the NCI- UK space were based on findings from an initial evidence review. It was recommended that the Namaste Care space should be prepared in advance and attention should be paid by staff to create a calm, warm, welcoming and safe atmosphere. Decisions around the layout of the
room were left entirely to staff to configure, in response to the space chosen. Staff were informed that strong light levels should be avoided, and it should be possible to adjust light levels in accordance to the session. Additional atmospheric lighting was suggested such as sensory lighting and fairy lights. It was advised natural aromas were
Namaste care sessions are focused, above all, on providing physical and emotional comfort to residents who take part
December 2020 •
www.thecarehomeenvironment.com
used rather than artificial ones to create pleasant smells throughout the room, but also for residents to be facilitated with the opportunity to explore smelling different scents on a one to one basis. Gentle and relaxing sounds/music and images were also encouraged to create an atmosphere in the space, rather than used for entertainment purposes. Namaste care sessions are focused,
above all, on providing physical and emotional comfort to residents who take part. This aspect is inherent to all other features of the session and, when it is
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