Care Service Welcomes Dementia Simulator

A Huyton-based care service for older people has this week embarked on a unique training experience to understand life from the perspective of a person living with dementia.

Bluebell Park, an Extra Care village for over 55s, provides high quality housing, support, and care services which enable and encourage people to live independently for as long as they wish to and are able to. The service’s specialist care and support is provided by Community Integrated Care.

The service welcomed an innovative and thought provoking virtual dementia simulator, provided by Training 2 Care, which took guests through a sensory experience that helped them walk in the shoes of a person living with dementia.

The simulator aims to give participants a greater insight and understanding of the condition, and brought together colleagues, family members, housing partners, local healthcare professionals and commissioners, with the aim of using this to influence how they interact and support a person with dementia.

Samantha Brennan, Community Integrated Care’s North West Regional Director, oversaw the project: “The dementia simulator from Training 2 Care was an incredible experience, and one that will change the way we deliver support to people living with dementia. To bring together so many of our stakeholders also proves how committed Community Integrated Care are to delivering outstanding care and support, driving up quality and standards of dementia care.

“This virtual dementia experience gave all participants a real life perspective of life with dementia and we are now reviewing how we positively interact with people in both our personal and professional lives to make a difference. The feedback has been truly overwhelming – we know that we’ve already made a difference for the people that we support, which is the outcome we wanted!!

Mark Adams, Community Integrated Care’s Chief Executive, took part in the simulator. He says: “This was one of the most powerful training exercises I’ve seen throughout my career. It gave us a shift in perspective that we often need to think about how we should support people living with dementia, and will no doubt improve the way we work going forward.”

“A huge well done to the team for organising such an innovative and emotional training session.”