Care Assistant sharing memories with a customer

There are many tools we can use to support somebody with dementia. These tools can help with memory, they can aid with mobility and they can make our homes safer.  

Firstly, let’s look at some equipment that can help with memory:

  • Whiteboards are useful for writing lists and reminders.
  • Stickers that can be written on are helpful for helping to remember instructions or for labelling jars or cupboards.
  • Clocks with large faces that display the day and date. These are especially helpful with ‘Sundowning’.
  • Calendars and diaries are great for keeping track of appointments and routines.
  • Lamps….. Dark shadowy corners in rooms can cause distress. Keeping rooms well-lit is essential.
  • Dosette boxes can help with organising medication for earlier stage dementia patients, whereas automatic pill dispensers are more suitable for those with more advanced memory difficulties. 
  • Timers are useful for reminding us that we have food cooking in the oven.
  • Early to Mild-Dementia sufferers can also use smart phones to set themselves reminders.

Useful equipment that helps with dementia in the kitchen

Dementia can cause difficulty with movement and co-ordination. To make using the kitchen safer, you may want to consider the following:

  • a kettle tipper – a frame that allows hot water to be poured safely
  • grip extensions for controls on appliances like ovens and taps
  • timers set to remind people that they have food in the oven or on the hob
  • tray trolleys to transport items
  • signs to remind the person where cooking items are located
  • non-slip rubber gloves to make washing-up safer.

Useful Equipment that helps with dementia in the Bathroom and Toilet

  • transfer benches, grab rails or bath steps for getting into and out of baths or showers
  • hoists that use pulleys to lower and raise a person into and out of a bath
  • bath seats and bath boards (which lie across the top of the bathtub, allowing a person to sit if that would be more comfortable for them). 
  • long-handled sponges to use when bathing
  • safety plugs (to limit how much water can be filled into the bath).

There is equipment that can make going to the toilet easier. There are also tools that can help with incontinence. These include:

  • a raised toilet seat
  • grab rails near the toilet
  • commodes and bedpans
  • waterproof mattresses and pillows
  • pads and pull-up incontinence pants.

Equipment to help with walking and moving

  • walking sticks, walking frames and wheelchairs
  • grab rails fitted throughout the home
  • ramps for wheelchairs
  • a stairlift (if staircases become difficult to use)
  • transfer aids to help people move from one place to another (for example, a transfer turntable, where a person sits or stands on a base which slowly turns)
  • hoists, pulleys and slings to raise or lower people from or into a bed or chair
  • moveable hoists to use throughout the house
  • riser-recliner chairs to help a person sit or stand
  • height-adjustable beds
  • bed hand blocks (which people can use to push themselves up in bed).

Equipment to help with eating and drinking

  • cutlery with cushioned handles that are easier to grip
  • non-spill cups with large handles
  • one-way straws which do not let liquid travel back down

Sight problems are common with Dementia, so ensure food is visually different in colour from plates and bowls. Contrast in colour will make the food easier to see at times it may be missed.

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