rottingdean Archives - Southcare Homes Group

How to Help Those with Dementia on Bonfire Night

5 Tips to Help Those with Dementia on Bonfire Night

November ushers in the autumn layers, warm drinks and firelit nights. Fireworks too. While the sound of booms, pops and whizzes are exciting for most of us, for some with dementia it can be a cause of distress. Here are some tips to help bring relief while fireworks are going off on bonfire night.

1. Stay calm

By keeping calm when another is in distress, you can provide an emotional anchor and not exacerbate the situation. Try to think about how they are feeling right now. Striving to show empathy and put yourself in their situation may help you react in a more understanding manner, no matter how they address you. Take time to consider how you will answer them.

2. Use gentle body language and a soothing tone

Linked with keeping calm is also doing your best to create a calm atmosphere. Your tone of voice can make a difference. Speaking with a soothing, gentle tone at a steady pace can help dissipate distress in someone that has dementia. Rapid, jerking movements can denote aggression so do your best to use soft, slow movements around them.

3. Create a relaxing environment

Remove anything nearby that could worsen the level of distress experienced. For instance, anything that makes sudden loud noises, overly bright lights – anything that could harass the senses could cause further distress. Minimise surrounding distractions where possible.

4. Understand the person and their needs

Knowing much about the person with dementia will help you to understand how best to help them. Once you’re aware of their personality, their background and history, it may give you an indication of what situations and stimuli may be triggering for them. Once you know what makes them tick or are aware of the underlying causes of their distress, you can be better informed to provide support and relief.

5. Provide opportunities for meaningful engagement

It’s not enough just to create a relaxing environment. The sounds of fireworks are likely to permeate. So, keep them occupied in an activity that is meaningful and one they find enjoyable. Reassure them with your presence, words and active engagement. Validating their feelings helps shift their focus away from the noise and may help calm the person down.

Resident holding a sparkler in garden — A previous Bonfire Night at Highbury House, Rottingdean. A dear resident enjoying the fun of sparklers!

There are great benefits to either hosting or attending a bonfire night celebration for residents. And the above tips can be used in any distressing situation. We wish you all the best with bonfire season and hope as many as possible can enjoy it.

21/10/2024 / by Amber

Highbury House Celebrates Good Care Month with Samba

Highbury Ho use Nursing Home in Rottingdean held their annual Summer Party, and this year the theme was Samba! They were lucky enough to have the amazing Silver Sounds join us who are Brighton’s senior samba band.

Musicians playing on percussive instruments before an elderly audience

Residents, relatives, friends and staff all enjoyed the party which included a BBQ and plenty of fun and games. Residents had great fun listening to the drums and percussion and even got to join in playing their own instruments.

Relatives and friends got to spend a special day with their loved one, which can sometimes be difficult in a nursing home when not all residents are able to venture outside of the home, the party was a day they could spend together with a slight change of scenery with the dining room being taken over by the band.

A side view of musicians playing on percussive instruments with a natural backdrop

The Highbury team were more than happy to join in ensuring our residents had the best day.

The team were a huge part of making this day a great one for our residents. Their hard work and dedication shined through. It was a time for us to all be together as one big family.

For more updates, follow Highbury House on Facebook

At Southcare Homes Group, we support and value the dedication carers put into their work in making life in our homes special for every one of our residents. We also feel that it’s essential to celebrate and appreciate the importance of carers and the wonderful job that they do. Find out more about our team here.

09/08/2024 / by Amber

Southcare Homes Raise over £500 for Macmillan Cancer Support

All our homes had a terrific time raise funds and awareness for the outstanding charity, Macmillan Cancer Support and their annual Biggest Ever Coffee Morning.

Mad Hatter’s Tea Party at Highbury House… that’s right, a tea party for a coffee morning – mad I tell you!

Highbury House and their wonderful Mad Hatter Tea Party! It was a day full of colour, craziness and cakes! A massive thanks to local businesses, such as Tesco, The Trellis Restaurant, S.A. Devesons Groceries, The White Horse Hotel, Rottingdean, Shane’s kitchen, Budgens. They all generously donated prizes for our Raffle! Also thanks to our heroic staff! They even brought in their own whacky outfits! We had Alice in Wonderland playing in our outdoor cinema, and a stunning themed cake created in house! Thanks to all our relatives that joined – even getting hats for their pets to wear! What a day!

Relatives and friends of Lime Tree House were able to join for a virtual cup of coffee for their Macmillan Morning. Their fabulous chef, Toby, made coconut and jam, Victoria sponge, carrot cake and Laura, our new activities coordinator made her oh-so-fabulous ginger cake!

Grasmere also managed to raise over £100 while also managing to work their way through an assortment of beautiful homemade cakes! They had a quiz, and even a jolly good game of beerpong (minus the beer though)!

A selection of sweet sponges to delight and tempt made their way onto the cake table at Heatherdene’s Coffee Morning. We are so grateful for the enthusiasm from our residents, staff, family and friends who not only raised the roof but managed to raise over £100 towards the charity. Thank you all for making our coffee morning such a sweet success!

Freshford Cottage’s Macmillan Coffee Morning was also a great success! You can see pictures and find out more details by visiting their Facebook page.

20/10/2021 / by Amber

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