It is known that dementia sufferers often forget to eat and drink regularly, which can increase their delirium and lead to rapid weight loss.
Five novel ideas were shortlisted for further development in a competition run by the Design Council and the Department of Health, to help make the lives of hundreds of thousands of people with dementia easier and more enjoyable.
For example Ben Davies, managing director of Rodd, a Hampshire-based design agency has devised a scent spray device. It sends out brief bursts of strong aromas from the 'Ode' plug-in device at mealtimes stimulated people's appetites and “reconnected” them to food. The ode, which emits citrus and cake scents at set times, has seen a 39% increase in better eating patterns for people with dementia, including weight gain and requests for meals.
There are also specially trained 'dementia dogs' to assist with their day-to-day needs, the brainchild of students at Glasgow School of Art, and a Facebook-style programme that enables the whole family to keep tabs on an individual to better share the burden of care.
Jeni Lennox, said studies showed dementia sufferers often had trouble recalling family members - but never pets. She said, “Specially trained assistance dogs will help support their daily routines - waking them up, reminding them to eat and drink and even bringing them their medicine in 'doggy bags'.” Only sufferers with a live-in carer like a spouse would be eligible, as someone must still look after the dog. She said having such a dog would help take the pressure off carers, who often “can't get a moment to themselves”.
Matt Harrison, a design consultant, came up with 'Grouple' - short for 'a group of people'. It is a dedicated website enabling family and friends to keep each other informed with updates such as when they have seen a loved-one, routine medical visits and emergencies. Mr Harrison said, “There's almost always a primary care who take the lion's share of responsibility for someone with dementia. The idea of Grouple is that it's much better if a whole family can assist.”
Paul Burstow, the Care Services Minister, said, “Fear of dementia can leave people feeling powerless and trapped, leaving them isolated and unsupported. That is why we have worked with the Design Council to drive innovation in dementia care. The five winning ideas have the potential to make a big difference for people with dementia and their families. The Design Council work is part of our wider drive to make our country dementia-friendly. Today we go further with our partnership with the Alzheimer's Society to challenge cities, towns and villages up and down the land to lead a revolution in how people think about dementia.”
“Working with businesses, councils, the local NHS and community groups, our immediate goal is a network of 20 dementia-friendly cities, towns and villages to lead the way,” he said. Around 670,000 people in England have dementia and the number of people developing the disease is increasing.
Jeremy Hughes, chief executive of Alzheimer's Society, said, “So many companies signing up to be dementia-friendly shows a real commitment to improving people's lives. From helping people with their shopping to making it easier to do their banking, these organisations are incredibly well placed to push forward real change. We now need to see more organisations getting involved. Together from bus drivers to businesses, we all have a role to play in making communities more dementia-friendly.”
Auditors estimate that the five projects could bring a combined return of more than £500m in social care savings through helping people access better nutrition, shared care and more physical activity. Yet at a time when the NHS is looking to make £20bn in efficiency savings, the pilots will be watched with interest.
For, as Mat Hunter, chief design officer at the Design Council, points out, “There is just as much scope to improve experiences of services through innovation in healthcare, but trying to kick start designs can be a particularly knotty issue.”
A month ago today the Prime Minister announced plans to make the UK a world leader on dementia. The ambitious programme aims to deliver major improvements in dementia care, dementia awareness and dementia research by 2015, with three ‘Champion Groups’ established to lead work on each strand. The Health and Care and Research Champion Groups will hold their first meetings shortly. The three champion groups will report on progress to the Prime Minister in September 2012 and again in March 2013.
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