Dementia training for live in carers

LIVE-IN care agency Corinium Care has responded to the growth of dementia by introducing training for its carers.

The agency, based in Nailsworth, has more than 700 registered carers on its books who look after frail and elderly people in their own homes. An increasing number, about 30 per cent, suffer from varying degrees of dementia.

Managing Director of Corinium Care, Camilla Miles, said helping carers to communicate with their clients is vital for the wellbeing of both parties.

“People with dementia can often feel frightened, confused, threatened, and incapable,” she said. “If carers haven’t come across that before, they need help to deal with it. There isn’t enough training out there – not even for doctors and nurses - so we decided to provide it ourselves. We feel passionately about it.”

The session took place at Corinium Care’s offices in George Street, for 16 new live-in carers. They were given examples of what to expect from someone with dementia and offered solutions as to how to deal with it.

“We can’t expect a client with dementia to adapt to us – we have to adapt to them and communicate in a way which puts them at ease,” said Camilla.

“There are many ways of doing that – building up the client’s self-esteem, expressing ideas in a positive way, avoiding the word ‘don’t’, not asking questions they can’t answer.”

She added that one of the most difficult aspects of dementia to grasp is the loss of logic and reason. “What should a carer do if the client puts toothpaste on her toothbrush, then brushes her hair with it?” she asked.

“Everything takes time too. But it’s important that our clients are allowed to do things for themselves and feel at the end of it that they’ve achieved something.”

She pointed out that a lot of the unusual habits which people with dementia adopt, like wearing odd clothes, or drinking their tea out of a saucer, are a reflection of our own perception of received behaviour.

“If we try to teach them to act differently, we are expecting them to adapt, which is unlikely to happen. What we have to ask ourselves is: does it matter? Is the client putting herself at risk?”

One of the live-in carers on the training course was Gill Peinke from South Africa, who was about to start a six-month placement with Corinium.

“This training is absolutely fantastic – I think everybody should go through it because you never know what life’s going to throw at you,” she said.

“My mother-in-law has dementia and sometimes during the training session, I wanted to leave the room and sob. My mother is 87 and is slightly forgetful. Who knows if she’s going to deteriorate? When I go back home, I feel I’ll be more able to cope.”
Camilla, who set up Corinium Care in 1995, said: “We have the opportunity to provide one-to-one care in a dignified and safe environment and to allay fears in what can be a very uncertain future for the client and their families.”