It is important the people living with dementia have the best quality of life
possible remaining as independent as possible in their home environment
simple changes to create a more dementia friendly environment can have a positive
impact on a person living with dementia's emotional well-being and independence
Steve Amos from the Avalon group has headed up a project called smarter homes
in the northeast of England the project involves undertaking assessments and
making changes to the home environment to make it more calming and practical
for people living with dementia. For people with dementia and actually people
who have visual problems we know that by the age of 60 to 65
we all need up to 60% more light to see clearly and when people get dementia
senses can be heightened and one of those senses is seeing, is sight, and what
we can understand from all the research that's been undertaken is that
by promoting and introducing contrasting colours - real visual targets for people it
helps to reduce levels of anxiety agitation and in some cases it's been
proven to reduce severe changes in behaviour. Steve carried out an assessment
with Ian Mackey who was recently diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Steve
suggested a number of changes that he could implement immediately for Ian and
his wife Mary along with other suggested changes that they could make in the
future these include changes such as introducing more contrasting bright
colors to create a more 3d environment and having one block colour carpet
throughout the house to prevent the in perceiving the floor as having holes
and just have it through yeah yeah actually yeah yeah yeah yeah
Ian and wife Mary have a very positive approach to life and welcome any changes
that will help to maintain their independence we find a visit from Steve
very helpful and we found it very easy because they just came in like a couple
of folk we'd maybe known for a year or two and made themselves at ease in our
house which made it far more easy to be open and express how we were feeling
about this because it's quite a massive change in your life when you get a
diagnosis of Alzheimer's because it's um it's not get like getting a rash it's
going to clean up in a few weeks time or a few days time or tablets it's going to
be a cold and go away it's something that we're going to
have to accommodate and live with for the rest of time so anything that we can
do to help we can get from people like Avalon and and Steve we're very open to
petition what help we can get we're quite keen to make the few changes to remain
independent in a sense and and just maintain the level that we're at now
if it helps to be that little bit independent then that in turn
helps me in terms of obstacles, I really don't meet many obstacles that in
my practical life even within the house but I am at a stage where I do
contemplate this arising and it it could be quietly happening even as I speak
Mary and Ian are starting with some of the small changes that Steve
suggested such as using signage to help being differentiate between the
different rooms in the house new color grab rails will be introduced
to help them stand out against the white backdrop of the walls little raised
color bumper stickers are applied to the tap to provide Ian and Mary with a
visual target when using the hot and cold water a night and day clog will
help you to know if it is morning or night when he wakes up and feels
disorientated. Steve has recommended that introducing bright vibrant crockery will
help Ian to see clearly what he is eating and will help make his food look more
appetising. Steve has introduced covers for the light switches to help the white
switch stand out against the cream wall we will revisit Ian and Mary in a couple
of weeks to find out how they have got on with the changes Steve has come to
Manchester to see James Manning who was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in February
2012 he's carrying out an assessment to change his house which he occupies alone
just come around today and to talk to you about some of the things we can do
with your environment that will help in terms of dementia care we know from a
lot of research that's been carried out that if we look at things like color
contrasting give people visual targets it helps them around their own homes but
what will be good is to have a look around some of your other rooms
James shows Steve around his home while Steve assesses what changes he thinks
should be introduced to keep James living independently. He takes into
account James's background and personality to make recommendations for
changes that James will benefit from he makes suggestions for future changes
that James can implement when Steve has carried out the assessment he sits down
with James to confirm the changes that James has agreed to I think there would
be a real benefit I look forward to the changes that going to be made and
hopefully they will make a difference to me and others people as well
It is the day of the changes for James's home environment Manchester's care and repair
team are going to be making the changes they provide a free handyman service for
people over the age of 60 with clients only needing to cover the cost of
materials steve has proposed changing the curtains
and duvet cover in James's room to a bright block color as the current ones
are very pattern than could affect the way in which James perceives them
James chooses some maroon curtains and a matching bed cover the team are changing
the front room walls to a brighter shade to open up the room and create a clear
contrast with the vibrant feature wall these changes will generate more natural
light which is very important for people living with dementia James's wooden
toilet seat is replaced as it doesn't contrast against the wooden floor in the
bathroom the new bright red toilet seat will provide James with a more visual
target James's towel rail was dark brown and was hard to spot against the wooden
paneling so we have swamped it for a vibrant red rail the light throughout
James's house is a little dull due to the energy-saving bulbs steve has
suggested that would change the balls for energy-efficient balls with a higher
lumens to provide more light it is important to get as much natural light
in the kitchen as possible so James's blind has been replaced with a vibrant
block color so that he has drawn to it and is prompted to open it. Steve
suggested that James will benefit from a bright colored handrail on the staircase
so the care and repair team have installed one for James and are painting it red to
help create that visual 3d effect when Steve carried out his assessment it
became apparent that James loves to be outside and keeping busy his yard area
wasn't getting utilized and there wasn't anything outside to draw him that Steve
suggested a bench some flowers and a bird table for the yard area in James's
bedroom Steve has put in to touch lumps either side of the bed if James needs to get
up when it is dark he doesn't have to look around for the light switch
he can just touch the base and the light will come up although James has already
invested in a descriptive clock he was keen to also try out the night and day
clock we are keen to see how James gets on with the changes that we have made to
the environment so we'll be back to visit him in a couple of weeks we have
come back to find out how useful Mary and Ian are finding their changes the
color of the the grab rails was in the loo it's dead simple but it's there and
first time we used him three times a night okay about usual drills at
nighttime came along sat down see huh these new color things but immediately
even in the darkness no doubt it's red it's brilliant you know I was quietly
chuffed actually you know and I sort of being just a bit slow to accept
new things you know but hey yeah they made a difference our clock has been
mounted just absolutely where I am on my left hand side this not high up the wall
and we'll just right at eye level and I can just put the light on minimum
shine and I can see this little sign that says midnight and 2:00 in the
morning yeah it's brilliant it's brilliant yeah just as with the red grab
rails that the light the red light switches it's brilliant, distinct eyes go to
them no problem the changes we've had done so far are really quite simple
things and quite basic but I do feel that they are helpful in as much as it
keeps recognition going without having to think about it I would suggest that
anybody that's having sort of mixed feelings about making little changes not
to hesitate change is not always a good thing for
older people but if the little changes have to be made if you meet the small
changes they may to keep things going and so as bigger
changes don't become too necessary too soon
we are back in Manchester with James to see if the changes have had a positive
impact on him. James found it helpful to write down his thoughts on the changes
that have been made and read them out. I was impressed with the quality of the
painting which was very good and made a difference to the whole room yeah I
was impressed with the quality of the yard which was well presented the yard
needs to be in good condition and needs to be open more and used which i think
is better than the rest of the other things the hand rail is red and stands
out against the walls I find it useful I was happy with the duvet and curtains
which made a huge difference to the rooms and also the touch lamp which I am
using a lot yeah I was very impressed with the toilet seat there are a number
of changes really that can happen and what we're looking for is as I said
earlier in terms of the well-being assessment we we want to see if possible
that people's well-being has improved over a six-month period of time and and
if it does that significant for the person with dementia and their carer
because it means that their perspective on the world that they're living with
dementia is changed and improved somewhat
you