Horsell Lodge Sheds Light on Dementia during Care Home Open Week
At the end of June, Horsell Lodge Care Home in Woking took part in Care Home Open Week, hosting a cheese and wine evening to welcome the local community and offer insights into life within the care home.
As part of the event, Michele and Rianna, local Dementia Friends Ambassadors, engaged attendees in an informal yet educational talk over a glass of wine. The focus was on understanding how to support individuals living with Dementia and ensuring they experience a fulfilling life.
Using a unique analogy, Michele explained, "Rianna is a bookshelf," elaborating that the books on the top shelf represent Rianna's current life living with dementia in her 80s, while the middle shelf represents her middle-aged years with her family. The bottom shelf symbolises her school days with her parents. If I shake Rianna, the first books that fall off are from the top shelf; the present, if I shake Rianna again, her middle shelf books fall off. This is often what we see in people on their dementia journey, their top, and possibly middle books can fall off the shelf and it’s the bottom shelf books, their early life, that appear relevant in the current day.’
Attendees found the session enlightening, with one participant commenting, "It was a great session, with easy-to-visualise analogies allowing us to understand the journey my loved one is on."
The aim of the talk was to address the often-taboo subject of dementia, dispel myths, and provide practical insights into how to offer support during this journey. Anne, a resident of Horsell Lodge, expressed her appreciation, saying, "It feels great to now have an understanding of what some of my peers are going through, and how I can help."
The event emphasised the importance of open discussions surrounding dementia, encouraging attendees to seek guidance from reputable organisations such as the Alzheimer's Society, Age UK, or Dementia UK if they or someone they know is on a dementia journey.
Care Home Open Week served as a reminder of Horsell Lodge's commitment to fostering a supportive environment, offering education and empathy for those living with dementia and their loved ones. The team at Horsell Lodge is dedicated to ensuring their residents live well and experience the best possible care and quality of life. For more information on how the Horsell Lodge Care Home team can help, please contact us today on freephone 0808 223 5513.
