Tayside care home staff to speak at dementia conference

Two staff members from a Tayside care provider will be among the speakers at a dementia conference next week.

Yvonne Manson, a dementia nurse consultant with Balhousie Care Group, and Donna Sinclair, deputy manager at Balhousie Stormont Lodge care home in Blairgowrie, will speak about the group’s Namaste Care programme.

Namaste Care is a multisensory therapy that uses touch, foot massage, face washing and hair brushing, often accompanied by music and fragrance, in a therapeutic environment.

It was started in the US, taking its name from a Hindu term meaning “to honor the spirit within”, and is now in use with people with dementia around the world.

Yvonne and Donna will join a number of speakers at the 10th annual Scottish Caring and Dementia Congress on April 18 at Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh.

The pair will talk about the improvements they have noticed in residents’ mood, movement, speech and communication since introducing the system in 2016.

Yvonne said: “We introduced Namaste Care as part of our dementia strategy to address the needs of those with advanced dementia in Balhousie Care’s 25 care homes and the results have been very positive.

“One of the benefits of the programme we follow is that it is portable and can be administered in a resident’s own room.

“Our Namaste champions can support families on how to deliver Namaste Care.”

The conference will include academics from St Andrews and Edinburgh universities, as well as representatives from NHS boards in Scotland and England.