A UNIQUE tour bus is rolling into the Midlands based, award-winning care home, Bowood Court & Mews in Redditch to provide care workers with a virtual experience of what it is like to live with dementia.
It’s all designed to chime in with Dementia Action Week, which closes on May 22.
The team at the Bowood Court & Mews Care Home will be among the first to hop on board the specially equipped bus with dementia manager, Karen Middleton leading the way.
Offering a range of sensory tools, the bus, which is operated by Training 2 Care, has been designed to provide an insightful, virtual experience to people who do not live with the condition, so they can better understand how dementia impacts on thought processes, behaviours, and feelings among those they care for.
It enables carers to develop greater empathy for the physical and mental challenges faced by people with dementia so that simple changes to living environments can be made and adjustments to individual care plans can be implemented to provide an enriched wellbeing for their residents.
Emma Philpot, head of operations at Adept Care Homes, which manages Bowood Court & Mews and seven other family-run homes across the region, said: “This is a great opportunity for our team to experience.
“These outstanding professional tools offer unique and essential perspective to our team from all areas of our home, such as housekeepers, the catering team, maintenance teams as well as our care team.
“Spending just a few minutes undergoing the virtual simulation will allow them to step into the shoes of someone living with dementia and understand some of the challenges they face.”
Karen Middleton, Adepts dementia manager added: “The training will be invaluable, and our team will be using their experiences to make any necessary adjustments to help improve day to day living for our residents who are living with dementia.”
