UK care home plans 1950s room for Alzheimer’s sufferers
I found this news to be very interesting. A hospital in England is planning to create a 1950s style lounge in their facility especially for patients who are suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.
The rationale is that many of these patients are now in their nineties and the 1950s will evoke memories and comfortable surroundings. I find this incredibly intriguing.
Will this make a difference to patients? Will these surroundings evoke memories and a feeling of comfort from the past? In the UK, one person in every six who is over eighty suffers from Alzheimer’s (according to the BBC website) and the hospital hopes that a new day room, decorated as it would have been in the 1950s will help those in their care.
What do you think?
Statistics from 2010
The instigators of this initiative believe that this will help their patients relax. They intend to create the room with authentic items,even down to the wallpaper – which must meet current anti-bacterial regulations.
They will be sourcing and using authentic teacups and other china which they hope will instigate conversations and trigger memories.
This is not an original idea. In 2000, a care home in another area of the UK did the same thing with remarkable results.
They claimed that they were able to reduce the use of antipsychotic drugs by 70%. Patients who were previously unable to walk were now able to walk, with aids, into the 1950s room and it was claimed that many residents were happier and calmer.
Some patients have stronger memories of their offices than their homes so therefore the 1950s rooms are also kitted out with old-fashioned telephones and typewriters.
Care workers in the UK are convinced that this initiative helps.
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February 9, 2015
What a fascinating and wonderful idea. The statistics of lowering the anxiety meds by 70% speaks well for it. I hope we see more of this very soon Thanks for sharing this information.