University leads dementia care project to improve lives for local people

The University of Huddersfield is at the heart of a project that could improve lives for people living with dementia in the local Kirklees area and beyond.

Instigated by Dr Clementinah Rooke, Senior Lecturer in Mental Health Nursing, the project has seen students from across a range of courses and disciplines work with people living with mild to moderate forms of dementia in Integrated Meeting Centres (IMCs), friendly and informal sessions held in local community spaces.

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Meeting Centres are a social club-like get-together where people can have fun, talk to others and get help with the goal, based on extensive research, that this can help people cope with adjusting to living with symptoms of dementia and the changes that it brings. Students are also able to hone their therapeutic care skills, essential components for proficiencies that must be achieved during their studies. 

Students gain experience of working with people living with dementia

An important part of the work is also the support given to carers and family members who are also living with the consequences of dementia. Students offer guidance, therapeutic interventions and signposting to relevant local services who are also invited to attend sessions.

Among the University’s partners in the project are Kirklees Council and its Dementia Hub, with Kirklees Mayor and Huddersfield alumna Nosheen Dad attending a recent event on campus led by Dr Rooke and PhD researcher Laura Hawley.

“By improving matters for people living with dementia, IMCs could also keep them out of the stretched NHS system. We also realised that they could address a need for our students to go out and work actively with people living with dementia, integrating these meeting places with higher education, which we call Focused Intervention Training and Support, or FITS.”

Drama scenarios help students to help patients

FITS is a progressive programme developed by the University of Worcester that teaches in-depth understanding of dementia, whilst developing skills in non-pharmaceutical interventions. As well teaching of FITS to nursing students, the IMCs embedded applied drama training and acting techniques into the curriculum so students could expand and develop their communication skills. 

Taught by Laura Hawley, a drama practitioner and mental health nurse, the students explored ways to communicate physically and verbally with people with dementia. They also explored real-life scenarios from different perspectives. FITS and applied drama approaches, employed within the IMC model, have the potential to transform dementia education and healthcare placements, with the University of Huddersfield leading the way. 

Importantly, the pilot study has shown the IMCs to be of real benefit for people living with dementia in the community. Dr Rooke adds, "One of the family members spoke very movingly about how her Mum was able to just come in to relax, as normally she wouldn't want to go anywhere. The interaction with students had made a big difference to her.

“An evaluative report is being published, which will be distributed widely, including to the Mayor of Kirklees supporting this idea. The IMCs should be seen as hubs for students as well as people living with dementia, and maybe they can be places where students can volunteer as well as work on placements as part of their courses.

“They could run in a similar way to the University’s Get Set Goal programme, where students go out to the local community to perform health checks like blood pressure and oxygen saturation. Leadership skills have also been developed with students at the IMCs. Through the specialist training and placements, students can see the whole person, employ genuine person-centred care, which is key to nursing and midwifery professional standards, and not just someone who has the label of dementia attached to them.”