Fernhill House appoints new dementia lead
Fernhill House has appointed a new dementia
lead to help residents enjoy an active and fulfilled life.
Paul Turvey joins the home from Age
UK Hereford and Worcester where he was a Home from Hospital adviser and
independent living administrator.
He has
previously been a senior care assistant at another Worcestershire home, looking
after the needs of people living with dementia, and a healthcare assistant at Worcestershire
Royal Hospital.
Paul has undergone a wide
range of professional training courses aimed at understanding the needs of
residents with particular requirements.
He explained:
“I allow myself to enter the world of the person with dementia, becoming part
of their reality and I truly believe this helps me to deliver the best possible
care I can.
“It is important to me that residents have
choice, which I give them from the moment they wake up. My ethos is ‘always make
a difference to someone’s day.’ It’s important to find out what makes our residents
tick and to create activities based around their likes and interests, such as
organising pet therapy, encouraging them to use a relaxing sensory room or
picking herbs from the garden.
“The meal time experience is another
opportunity to bond with residents, giving them the choice of what they would
like to eat, allowing them to see and smell each meal separately and use plain
brightly coloured plates to make it easier for them to see their food.
“Fernhill House is a happy, homely place,
rooms are personalised, memory boxes are filled with favourite things, walls are
decorated with art residents can relate to.”
Indeed, the home has innovative dementia
friendly facilities
such as an indoor potting shed, a ‘real’ pub, a shop and 1950s and 60s themed
games as well as assistance from staff dressed casually in vintage clothes.
The
home, with its ethos of fun and enjoyment, also has its own beautifully
equipped children’s nursery complete with lifelike dolls which residents can
‘adopt’. This doll therapy can be a very powerful way of helping people with
dementia manage their condition – with some very touching outcomes.
Regular activities and outings add to
the feeling of vibrancy at Fernhill House, with some guests returning on a
regular basis, such as the Poppy Sisters, with their vintage musical act. They are
particularly popular among those living with dementia, for whom reliving their
youth is often very therapeutic.
In addition to arts and crafts, holistic
therapies and gardening, events such as tea dances, choir therapy, recitals by
string quartets, celebrity guest speakers, cooking workshops and bubbles and
blinis evenings are regular fixtures on the activities calendar.