The room where dementia patients step back in time
THIS 1950s living room – complete with a radiogram, sewing machine and typewriter – is helping dementia patients connect with the past.
The Reminiscence Room is kitted out with mid-century furniture, and even the wallpaper has been aged to look authentic.
The room, at Fiona Gardens, a care facility in Sale, is designed to provide a space where people living with dementia can relax and be transported back in time.
With the help of hits by Elvis Presley and the Everly Brothers as well as ladies’ perfumes, the housing group plan to hold regular reminiscence sessions.
Joy, 82, who lives at the housing scheme said the newly refurbished room has brought back fond memories of her childhood.
She said: “The Reminiscence Room is beautifully decorated and a nice place to sit and think.
“It reminds me of my childhood home and has a sewing machine just like the one my mum used to take up the hems on my dresses. The radiogram brings back fond memories of the one which used to hold all my dad’s records.”
The home’s Reminiscence Room is open to all 71 residents, their families and the local community. Rodger Cairns, assistant director at Trafford Housing Trust’s independent living service TrustCare, said staff are always looking at innovative ways to support those living with dementia and will include a Reminiscence Room or area in each of THT sheltered scheme over the next year. “The Trust also plans to introduce Memory Cafés across Trafford as a welcoming space for people with dementia and their family and carers, while partnering with specialist dementia organisations to provide information about their services,” he said.
“We also offer GPS tracking monitors as part of our alert and response telecare service to provide peace of mind for friends and family of those living with dementia. Also popular is our recently launched over-50s club, Be Social, which encourages members to take part in activities and events to increase wellbeing, improve memory and reduce loneliness.”
TrustCare has 25 members of staff trained as Dementia Friends Champions through the Alzheimer’s Society to help spread awareness and promote inclusion for people living with the condition.
It reminds me of my childhood home and has a sewing machine just like my mum’s Resident Joy