Busy caree with her carer talking to a volunteer
Dementia Meeting Centres - synopsis Home page here
There is an international project (Meetingdem more) to increase the number of Dementia Meeting Centres (DMCs) based on 125 of them within Holland, successfully introduced over the last twenty years. This page results from the author's strong belief in the continuity of the too-few UK DMCs started since 2013, and the creation of more.
Contents
- The huge difference between a daycare centre and a DMC
- There is a care-triangle of the caree, the carer and the DMC
- Carees are part and parcel of the "care-outwards"
- Carers enjoy and benefit from sharing the caring
- A diagnosis of dementia can be frightening
- Person-centred care is treating the person with dignity and respect
- Reminiscence therapy is well-used within DMCs
- Volunteers participate in the DMC care process.
We proceed to the detail:
- The huge difference between a daycare centre and a DMC is that carers participate in the wider aspects of the care process which is person-centred. This, essentially, is treating the person, the caree, with dignity and respect: understanding their history, lifestyle, culture and preferences: and looking at situations from the point of view of the person and not a set of symptoms.
- There is a care-triangle of the caree, the carer and the DMC as a cohesive and innovative way of dealing with the growing numbers of dementia sufferers. Participation in the DMC care provision and process is the key characteristic of the DMC. The DMC focuses the "care inwards" on carees and carers who soon learn how to focus their "care outwards".
- Carees are part and parcel of the "care-outwards" to other carees and carers and are not solely receivers of "care-inwards". You can imagine that "care-outwards" might be aimed at the specific carer as a subconscious thank you. As much as that may be valid, there is a positively-pervasive group care-outwards which reaches the parts that conventional daycare centres don't reach. A significant proportion of people with dementia who attend DMCs regularly, experience delayed entry into residential care compared with those who do not attend DMCs at all and/or who attend conventional daycare centres.
- Carers enjoy and benefit from sharing the caring when, normally, it is a one-to-one activity. They enjoy the interaction within the normal activities, and occasional carer-group cohesion in the backroom together while their carees are busy and being looked after elsewhere. Their morale is heightened by participating with their peers, and the DMC staff/volunteers, in the care given to their loved-ones, and other carees with dementia. Participation in the care activities results in greater understanding of the wider benefits to oneself as a carer, and those with dementia.
- A diagnosis of dementia can be frightening for those affected by the syndrome, their carers and other family members. Learning more about dementia can help. Carers participate in discussion based on sharing their problems and helping each other. According to interest and need, dementia experts join the discussions.
- Person-centred care, essentially, is treating the person with dignity and respect: understanding their history, lifestyle, culture and preferences: and looking at situations from the point of view of the person and not a set of symptoms.
- Reminiscence therapy is well-used within DMCs and participants enjoy including their photos and other memorabilia in the reminiscence sessions. Making the most of long-term memory contributes to overall wellbeing. Sharing memories is a major part of that.
- Volunteers participate in the DMC care process. They are a key part of the care provision. They learn the broad principles within and ethos of the international project to increase the numbers of DMCs. Worcester University is looking after the research aspects. Results published around February 2017. A major charity has provided most of the UK funding so far. The future of existing and a too-few in-pipeline DMCs can depend on those results.
Conclusion
The formal project demands a vast amount of reading and it is generous with meetings. Distilling it to this amount of text has been a challenge. more