Last Thursday I went to visit Vale House.
The organisation describes itself as ‘dedicated to excellence in dementia care’. This is an understatement, I am overwhelmingly impressed by what I saw. I was shown round by lovely Sandy who gave up her time and displayed not only her knowledge but the dignity with which each person is treated.
Here she is!
The first surprise is there is a high ratio of staff to patients, all of whom are qualified in dementia care. There are 40 patients, although we should describe them as residents. Vale House does not feel like a care home. It is bright and airy and attractive. So much thought has been put into the architectural design and each individual’s need. For example the house has corridors built in a circular way. This supports the residents because dementia patients often like to walk. Instead of pacing rooms they can walk around the building, so much further for them to go and to experience. Each resident has their own ensuite room, outside of which is a little display with their name and things such as family photos and objects which reflect some part of their life. They are known by the person they were, before this terrible illness struck, as well as the person they are. I saw the staff caring gently for people with incredibly challenging behaviour, with respect and kindness. The thing is, if you think about it, we respond to the people around us in different ways, but our close friends are those with whom we have common interests, those we admire perhaps and those with whom we ‘click’. People with dementia have lost the ability to be interesting, or helpful, or kind, or funny, or loving, or many other attributes we can think of. They have no way to build relationships again or to ask for help or to defend themselves. I work with all sorts of people every day, but all of them, however challenging they might be, I can communicate with. The staff at Vale House have to be patient, kind, respectful and go the extra mile every single hour of their working day.
Amazingly inside the building are courtyards, little gardens open to the sky. Even on the first floor there is a rooftop area where residents can sit out and breathe the fresh air and look out at the countryside.
They can go into the garden quite safely, without the worry of them walking out into the road. Many of the residents are bed-ridden but this is not a barrier to their carers. They provide very sophisticated chairs so they can make sure the residents are comfortable and can be wheeled into a garden area, or into different rooms to join in activities, or just for a change of scene.
I could go on and on, but here are some facts. In the next few years in Oxfordshire 37% of the population will be aged over 75. Everyone knows our existing services will not be able to cope with the demand. Vale House is just one place, but there should be many Vale Houses all over our country. This seems an impossible problem and none of us can wave a magic wand, but we can help this fantastic organisation to go on providing care for the most vulnerable people. Who wouldn’t want their most loved ones or themselves, to be cared in an environment such as this? Vale House needed to raise £5.6 million for this purpose-built home. They still have a long way to go to raise the remaining £663.738. And what happens after that? Each one of those chairs I described costs £2000. With the high level of staffing which is required if we want to treat people with dignity and some sort of quality of life, the cost per person is around £850 per week. So next time I whine on about how hard it is to learn a few dance steps, or I say my feet are sore and my job is exhausting – kick me! Save your sympathy for the relatives and residents of Vale House and poor GG, of course. Please, please spare a few quid for this amazing organisation and donate right now. Let’s go for a staggering amount – can I raise £2000??? http://www.justgiving.com/Jane-Dixon6
strictlyjane 