Dementia care


Don’t turn memories into nightmares!


Dementia care design expert Peter Rose explains why he believes certain visual trends in the care home environment can be demeaning to residents, and outlines his advice for improving their surroundings


For the past 14 years, I have spent most of my working time thinking about, designing and manufacturing products aimed at supporting people living with dementia. Prior to that, I spent somewhat longer producing visual display material for retail marketing, museums and visitor attractions. This is a great perspective to understand how people react to the things that surround them and what they see. When I became involved with dementia care, I needed to understand what difference dementia might make to how someone perceives the world around them - their environment. I spent a couple of years working on this and seeking the counsel of a number of the most respected people in the sector who were only too pleased to help and were attracted by the novelty of what I was trying to do.


That work has resulted in a set of guide principles to work with that should ensure maximum effectiveness and minimum distress. As something of a trailblazer in this area I have created something of a legacy, but not one I am entirely proud of. Although my approach has been widely adopted, it is frequently interpreted and applied very poorly.


Reading the signs


Having demonstrated there was a significant benefit to using thoughtfully- designed signs, murals, and door coverings (which I named Door-cals), for example, as their use has spread so sign companies and digital printers literally jumped on a bandwagon. Recognising they could easily make their own version of the products - but not understanding the importance of the content and execution - and make cost the key feature, as opposed quality and effectiveness.


I could go to town illustrating this with a string of examples of signs with toilet symbols that look like telephones, or a


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Turning a long, blank wall into a valuable destination point, this recently installed mural clearly designates a cafe area without any ‘fake’ elements. The memory box, chalk board and food images are real elements in their own right and not incorporated in the mural print. The scene was completed with cafe tables and chairs serving tea, cakes etc. Just as you’d find in any cafe! Although the appearance ‘sets the scene’ it does not challenge or offer anything fake or unattainable.


doughnut - anything but a toilet. Murals that are simply horrific like a full-size front end of a bus coming out of a wall, or enticing but fake shop window displays where lovely things can be viewed yet are unattainable.


Those who should know better should extol the virtues of good design and point out the pitfalls, because it really matters


Yet I cannot blame the printers and signmakers and, of course, I will not cite specific examples - there are so many! Try Googling ‘murals for dementia care’. There is some good stuff, some not-so- good stuff and some that are downright unbelievable.


The worst examples are those produced by people who clearly know nothing of their clients’ needs. Some of those who really should know better contradict their implied expertise with products that do not match their words. Some who talk the talk sound like they know what they are doing but actions really do speak louder than words, and their actions tell a very different tale. Bless ‘em.


Foolish pride?


However, responsibility for this must lay at the feet of the commissioners. Those


www.thecarehomeenvironment.com • January 2021


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