Dementia care My role in the project was that of


communications consultant. I filmed a record of the study as it progressed, produced a short film of the entire project and helped to write all the supporting reports and presentations.


Five minutes before meals We wanted to see whether five minutes activity five minutes before a mealtime could have an impact on the health and wellbeing of people living with dementia. We planned to alternate two activities: one immediately before lunchtime and one immediately before teatime for a two-week period and then observe what happened. We used both the Jolly Trolley and the


Tovertafel as the activity, so we could see if it was just one activity in particular that could work, or if it was just the fact that any activity before a meal could work. With consent from their next of kin, we recruited those people who stood to gain the most from a study like this, those people who ordinarily had a poor intake of food and liquids. These people were all from Whittle


Hall’s Dementia Plus units. People on these 11-bed units are living with very advanced forms of dementia and have complex behaviours. Before the study started all people


taking part had person-centred care profiles specially created for them it was very important for us to understand their likes and dislikes and be able to recognise any signs of distress through non-verbal language. They were weighed and their general


Participants using the Tovertafel as an activity


well-being measured on a Therapy Outcomes Measures or TOM’s scale for short. They were observed daily, both during the activity, the mealtime and throughout the remainder of the day. At the end of the study they were weighed again and their TOM’s scale was repeated. It might sound very easy to offer five


minutes activity five minutes immediately before a mealtime. However, balancing the logistics of getting all the essential elements of the exercise in place at precisely the right time - including actually getting people to the table in the first place – was, at times, overwhelming. Yet we did it!


Astonishing results I must confess, when filming the first session I felt underwhelmed. I was not sure what to expect, but what I saw


was four people quietly eating lunch. I remember thinking to myself, ‘Well,


there’s not much to see here’ and feeling disappointed. It was not until I got a tap on my


shoulder from healthcare assistant Ryan Woolridge and turned to see him mouthing the word ‘Wow!’, that I stopped filming for a moment and listened to what he was whispering to me. Ryan told me the gentlemen all sat


eating quietly and independently were all usually assisted to eat and hardly ever sat quietly at the table and he had never seen them eating independently while in his care. At that point, one of the gentlemen actually poured himself a drink of juice, again behaviour that he had never been seen from him. The group continued to eat and drink


and some even had second helpings. Ryan was so happy he was practically bursting with excitement. We could not wait for teatime to see if this was just a fluke or if the same thing would happen again with a different activity. Teatime arrived, and the result was the same. It was at this point that we realised we


were onto something. I cannot tell you how much this meant to the staff involved in the study. If a new technique to encourage people to eat and drink had been discovered, then this could have a significant impact on their quality of life. You see people who are living with


dementia often forget they are hungry or thirsty, the thought might be there one minute and gone the next. The result is a poor intake, which in turn can lead to poor nutrition and dehydration and ultimately to feelings of anxiety and challenging behaviour.


Some members of the working group image in the pre-planning stage: (left to right) healthcare assistant Ryan Woolridge, home manager Deborah Payne, healthcare assistant Claire Lealman, director of quality Yvonne Warrington, speech and language consultant Alison Matthews


18


Broadening the study What we saw in the first session continued throughout every session in


www.thecarehomeenvironment.com• February 2021


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