Come On In - blog for Care Home Week (15 June – Ordinary Living)
By Heather Edwards, Dementia Consultant, Care Inspectorate
The pocket guide “Come on In” is a great example of how the views and thoughts of a motivated and interested group of folk can be brought together into something that can provide practical hints and tips for all families and friends. The beauty of this work is that it came from the heart of the care home, in this case Campbell Snowden in Bridge of Weir to meet a need that the staff and families had identified. Staff had noticed that some family members were finding visiting more difficult especially as the person they were visiting was changing, conversations were perhaps not as easy and at times emotions could be running high. The home had already taken steps to work with two daughters of residents and involve them in sessions to enhance their understanding of dementia, and that had improved their understanding of what their mothers were experiencing and resulted in a different way of being together.
“Come on In” is about maintaining relationships especially when a loved one has moved into a care home, keeping those connections to friends and the community is vital for wellbeing. “Come on In” didn’t happen overnight, there were many discussions, rewrites and sharing of the drafts with other care homes and inspection staff. Marjorie Bain the Inspector for Campbell Snowden was involved at each step of the resource’s creation. We were keen to develop something that would give some first-hand hints and tips that can make keeping connected a valuable and joyful experience rather than an obligation.
The working group who developed “Come on In” collaborated well and although the Care Inspectorate and Scottish Care were involved in this the driving force came from the home staff and the residents and families at Campbell Snowden. We were fortunate that the Life Changes Trust recognised the importance of the resource and agreed to fund the publication. The resource is available directly from the Care Inspectorate as well as from the Scottish Care Integration Leads who have been sharing it across the country.
The response to “Come on In” has been really encouraging and it have been shared far and wide, with representatives from Scotland taking the resource to Japan while attending Alzheimer International conference. Closer to home we received one from a care service in Shetland:
“Thank you so much for the "come on in" resource. We have had it displayed in the care centre and I can safely say out of all the resources we make available this one has gone the quickest, I think it's a real demonstration of its relevance to care centres and especially to families and carers.” A selection of video clips can be found here
Please contact the Care Inspectorate if you would like copies of “Come on In” sent out to you.