Malden House care home delivered theoretical and practical training about dementia to a group of 15 students from Sidmouth College; the aim of the sessions - to give teenagers empathy about what a person effected by dementia goes through.
As part of Dementia Awareness week, the college was invited to visit Malden House to work with the staff and residents.
During the first session on Monday 21 May Mrs Whitworth, 15 year 10 students who are studying health and social care received dementia awareness training from staff at the care home.
During the training, staff shared their care values and gave the students strategies to use when working with someone with dementia, including how to empower people, keep dignity intact and encourage independence.
During the second session on 24 May students returned to the care home to work with the residents on a variety of activities, putting their new training into practice to assist with the sensory garden, arts and crafts and cooking.
Agnieszka Orlowska, the registered manager at Malden House, says: "It was great to see the students learning so much about dementia - some of them became emotional and showed a lot of passion about what we do at Malden House!
"I can tell the students really benefitted from the training - after the first session we received a phone call from the college to ask if they could stay for longer (for the second session) because they felt that an hour wasn’t enough. It feels amazing to know that we can make the difference to share our knowledge with the younger generation about people living with dementia!"
Lisa Whitworth, who co-ordinates the health and social care course and helped to organise the visits to Malden House, says: “The students loved it. They spent a lot time getting to know the residents, then they made a display board to share what they learnt about the whole experience and the individual residents such as favourite pastimes and interests. I think the students learnt how to communicate effectively with those who live with dementia.
"The students have been studying care values so the project came at a good time to put the learning into practice and the students are talking about returning to the care home to do work experience and voluntary work!"
