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This Occupational Therapy Week, Enrique Diaz, Occupational Therapist (OT) on Belvedere Ward at Franklyn Hospital in Exeter, celebrates the valuable role of the OT team who support patients living with dementia.

Enrique shared: "Patients struggle to perform familiar activities and OT input is needed to identify struggles, limitations, strengths and preserved skills.

"Dementia is a brain disorder that affects memory, thinking and behaviour, and keeping the brain active with sensory and meaningful activities helps to maintain function and the ability to participate in everyday life.

"The OT role is very important; as we observe patients struggling with occupation deprivation impacting on their sense of identity and the OT team works alongside the multi-disciplinary team (MDT) to support patients ensuring they can perform activities of daily living, interact with others and their environment, adapting and changing activities based on personal skills, needs and limitations.

"The OT team is specialised in supporting patients engaging with occupations at different levels using a gentle and trauma informed approach to ensure patients' emotional, cognitive and physical needs are met. Due to the changes in the brain, the OT team are trained in understanding patient’s sensory needs and use sensory activities for patients who are experiencing moderate and severe dementia with the main objective to reduce distress and support patients to regulate using a holistic and evidence-based interventions. Then patients are able to perform familiar activities with considerable therapeutic impact.

"Dementia as a condition does not just affect patients living with dementia, we have also seen the impact on relatives and the OT team have a valuable role supporting relatives to understand some of the changes in their presentation and providing reassurance.

"Carers and relatives are worried about their loved ones being on the ward struggling with the symptoms of dementia; the OT team provides updates informing them about the different interventions and stimulation offered as well as the positive impact on them, enhancing their quality of life. With some support relatives have been supported by the OT team to get involved in this interventions having a positive experience and quality time together."

Above: Patients’ artwork, a way to express themselves using preserved skills.

Implementation of the Allen Cognitive Level Screen

The OT team have also been supporting patients identifying levels of performance based on their cognitive abilities with the purpose to adapt and create tailored activities that the patient can perform using their strengths and skills.

The implementation of this tool has also helped other professionals when understanding a person’s performance and presentation on the ward and it has supported to establish future support plans when patients are ready for discharge and advocate for their needs in the community once they leave hospital.

Above: A patient using a sample and tiles activity to assess cognitive ability.

Empathy Suit

The OT team have also been supporting colleagues, new staff members, students and relatives to understand the physical changes in patients with dementia. In the last few months, Enrique has been delivering training using the empathy suit.

The main goal of this training is:

Giving the wearer a unique sense of how it may feel to be an older person living with dementia, the Empathy Suit literally puts attendees 'in the shoes' of the people they support
Attendees take it in turns to try on the suit and are set simple tasks such as moving objects on a table, walking and reading. 

At the end of this training, all the attendees will:  

Have a deeper understanding of dementia and age-related physical impairment
Understand everyday challenges for people living with dementia
Develop communication skills 
Understand dementia and environmental challenges 
Have an experiential understanding of the need for empathy for the people you support 
Be able to reflect and incorporate this into best practice in your care setting or workplace.

                             

Above: Dr Richard McCollum, Consultant, experiences using the Empathy Suit.