Care home pioneers recreate 1950s room (complete with wireless) to help memories of Alzheimer’s patients
A care home has dramatically improved the life of its Alzheimer’s patients – by creating a 1950s ‘time warp’ room which reminds them of happier times.
The ‘Reminiscence Room’ features classic Bakelite furniture, a gramophone, wireless and a typewriter. Carers say the sitting room helps to calm patients by transporting them back to ‘the good old days’, bringing fond memories flooding back. Care home residents Pat Steggall and Helen Blake in the ‘memory’ room. Pioneering carers have dramatically improved the life of their Alzheimer’s patients by creating a 1950s room to help jog memories.
The 1950s room is similar to the 1970s house recreated for the recent BBC documentary ‘The Young Ones.’ This placed six older celebrities including Lionel Blair and Dickie Bird in a retro environment for a week. The theory was placing them in a world they associated with a happy, successful period in their lives would help them ‘think themselves young.’
Science present Michael Moseley, and Dr Ellen Langer who performed a similar test 30 years ago, were impressed by both the physical and mental improvements all of the residents made in just seven days.
Staff at the Coombe End Court home, in Marlborough, Wiltshire said their 1950s room has also had a dramatic impact. They said residents with Alzheimer’s needed fewer anti-psychotic drugs to help control their condition.
Manager Sue Linsley said: ‘The Reminiscence Room plays an important role in reducing the use of medication – it’s very, very effective. ‘The aim of the room is to help dementia sufferers tap more easily into memories from their past, triggering more memories that can give them a grounding when they may be confused. ‘The gramophone, the Bakelite telephone – the residents can remember these things. They evoke memories of happy times of bringing up children and it provokes conversation about the past.
They all became more active ‘Our clients can come in and it calms them down. This unit proves that you don’t need to use anti-psychotics all the time. ‘It’s a working room – not just for show – the staff use it as an integral part of their care.’
The care home, run by the Orders of St John Care Trust, caters for 60 residents of whom a third are suffering from severe dementia. Bosses decided to redecorate the lounge in the style of a 1950s home and staff scoured markets and antique stores and appealed for donations of period furniture. Among the objects collected were three flying ducks, a vacuum cleaner and even a post-war pram. A 50s-style office space equipped with a desk, electric typewriter and hat-stand followed, along with black and white photographs to trigger a trip down memory lane.
The only clue to the room’s real age are the plug sockets in the walls.
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