Helping hand as the memories start to fade

Now 86, Grace is one of only a handful of people with dementia who are among the first in the UK cared for with innovative use of a new computer programme.

Springfield Care Home, Garforth, Leeds, is the first in the UK to adapt new clinical computer software to revolutionise how it supports people with dementia.

The software – the HET Care Home Management Solution – was originally developed to help nursing staff with the wider clinical management of care home residents, such as when they should receive prescribed medication.

However, Graeme Lee, owner of Springfield Care Home, opened by his parents in 1967, recognised the software's untapped potential when studying how best to care for people with dementia.

Now Springfield Care Home has adapted the software so that, instead of inputting clinical care data, detailed information about each resident's past life is entered to create a pioneering technique to provide the best possible quality of life for them.

Soon after admission, each resident with dementia is closely observed by a specially-trained nurse so they can "map out" their behaviour including what makes them content or distressed, how they react during social events and who they like to sit next to when eating or relaxing.

"When caring for residents with dementia it is vital that we fully understand their life history, including their education, profession, daily routine, passions, life experiences and hobbies. These are what make them who they are," explains Mr Lee.

The system automatically produces reports focused on creating the best possible outcome for each resident and which can be used in providing detailed information for families, staff and appropriate governing bodies.

Grace Hunt's daughter, Mary Brennan, a former nurse at St James's Hospital, Leeds, can see clear benefits of the new system.

"As a former nurse, and daughter of someone with dementia, I can see the very real benefits of this care technique from both sides. People with dementia lose their most recent memories first and, when Grace is able to focus on what is happening, it is usually stimulated by a past memory, so enabling staff to help in this way can improve her quality of life.

"As the system is automatically geared to producing the best outcomes for each resident, it is far easier for busy nursing staff, who no longer have their time taken up by paper records, to focus on caring instead."

Mr Lee added: "As there are many forms of dementia, it is vital that each resident is treated as an individual and their care outcomes are met. The HET software allows us to do this and managers can keep a regular check on progress.

"We see this approach as an important step forward in how people with dementia are cared for now and in the future in the UK and perhaps in other parts of the world."

Other innovative techniques applied by Springfield Care Home include feature walkways displaying murals made from enlarged photographs of bygone Leeds, such as the former Corn Exchange and City Square, which may stimulate residents' memories and help them reminisce.

Rohan Vendy, chief executive of social care software developer HET Software, says: "Springfield Care Home is the first care home in the UK – and among only a handful globally – to apply this software specifically to people with dementia.

"We knew that the HET Care Home Management Solution could support this use but needed someone forward thinking such as Springfield to adapt it in this way. "