Let’s talk about dementia: Dementia Awareness Month
September is Dementia Awareness Month and 21 September is World Alzheimer’s Day. This year’s theme, ‘Together we can ensure no one faces dementia alone’ highlights the need for all Western Australians to reach out to people with dementia in their community to let them know they are not alone.
17 Sep 2020
It is our role as a community to do the best we can to support people living with dementia live well for as long as possible.
To show our support, a team of specialist nurses at St John of God Mt Lawley Hospital are holding various educational events and displays throughout the hospital highlighting the dementia services they provide to patients.
Day Therapy Unit Acting Clinical Nurse Specialist Tiffany Lee, works with dementia sufferers in the unit that caters for older adult outpatient rehabilitation. She has put together a display table full of information about dementia, which is already sparking new conversations in the hospital.
“Both visitors and patients are engaging with the display table and learning more about the symptoms of dementia and what to look out for, Tiffany said.
“Encouraging open conversations and creating more awareness around dementia, helps our patient’s families to make informed decisions about their care that can be proactive rather than reactive to the progression of dementia.”
People living with dementia may experience a loss of sensory engagement as the condition progresses. The use of sensory stimulation such as ‘fiddle boards’ and ‘twiddle mats’ can assist the experience of pleasant sensory engagement for people living with dementia and alzeimers. At St John of God Mt Lawley Hospital the twiddle mats are used to help aid engagement with individuals living with end stage dementia, helping to relieve stress, promote calm and provide a sense of usefulness.
As well as holding informative displays for visitors, the hospital is hosting various educational sessions for caregivers including an Educational Dementia Immersive Experience. This virtual reality experience will enable caregivers to see the world through the eyes of a person living with dementia.
Please visit Dementia Australia for more information about dementia.
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