Our four care homes in Wales have taken part in a unique virtual dementia training, which mimics the physical and emotional experiences of dementia, to help their carers gain a first-hand insight into what it is like to have dementia.
36 staff members from Silvercrest Group care homes, including Cŵrt Enfys in Ystradgynlais, Morgana Court in Bridgend, The Hollies in Pontypridd and Mill View in Ystrad Pentre, have taken part in the Virtual Dementia Tour, run by Xperience Training, to help develop a better understanding of dementia and further improve the quality of care they provide as a result.
Carers were given gloves to wear and spikey rubber insoles for their shoes to simulate peripheral neuropathy, which leaves dementia sufferers with numbness in their extremities making it difficult to perform simple tasks and uncomfortable to walk or stand.
Blurred glasses were also provided to Silvercrest’s carers to limit their vision, and headphones were provided which played a number of loud noises to simulate the limited hearing that affects those with dementia.
Scientifically proven to accurately represent stages four to six of dementia, the virtual dementia tour is provided to hospitals, care homes, doctors surgeries and even supermarkets to give users an opportunity to understand what practices need to be employed to improve the quality of care provided to those with dementia.
Kathy Gover, Home Manager at Mill View Care Home, who took part in the Virtual Dementia Tour, said: “This training experience was totally different from anything we’ve done before – it has really opened our eyes to what it is like living with dementia. I felt completely disempowered and frightened because my senses had been stripped away.
“It was especially unnerving when I couldn’t hear what anyone was saying to me and when I felt that I wasn’t able to act autonomously. During the training session I felt like I had lost my confidence and my feet were in pain because of the spikey insoles. It was an awful experience. It’s sad to think it’s what many people have to deal with daily.
“Like many of my colleagues I work with a number of residents who suffer from dementia and this training will really help us to adapt our care practises to suit each individual, anticipating their needs and ensuring that they are made to feel comfortable and cared for at all times.”
Bikram Choudhary, Chief Executive of Silvercrest, said: “It has been great to see team members from all four care homes take part in this unique training programme. We pride ourselves on providing quality care to our residents with dementia and always ensure that our staff have the most up-to-date training. The experiences that our staff have gained from the Virtual Dementia Tour will help them to further understand the residents that they care for and make sure that all their needs are met.”
Originally developed 19 years ago in the USA, the Virtual Dementia Tour was created by American dementia consultant P.K. Beville following 25 years researching the condition. The tour was initially designed for the family members of those suffering dementia to help them understand what their relatives were experiencing.
Sherry Mills, Virtual Dementia Facilitator at Xperience who run the tour, said: “There are over 100 different types of dementia and it’s a very person-centred condition so it is important that carers really understand what care their patients or residents need. I am pleased to say that it does change people’s practices. Trainees have very different reactions but ultimately they leave the programme with a much better understanding of dementia than they had before.”
Silvercrest Group has care homes in Ystradgynlais, Bridgend, Pontypridd and Ystrad Pentre and provides specialist residential care to over 300 residents.
