George Drummond, Lyn James and Susan Beck
A new sitting room has been created by staff and patients’ families to provide a space that patients with dementia would recognise as a home environment and a safe place to relax.
The Cwtch, on East 18 at University Hospital Llandough, is a 1950’s style sitting room, complete with record player, glass cabinets and ornaments reflective of the era to engage with patients and their memories.
The Cwtch was the brainchild of Ben Ford, Ward Manager and Katherine Martinson, Refocusing Nurse on East 18, who both wish to extend their thanks for the tireless support and commitment of patients family members who helped to design and decorate the new space.
East 18 is part of the Mental Health Services for Older People service at Cardiff and Vale University Health Board and provides care for patients with Dementia and Alzheimer’s who require hospital admission, often for a long period of time.
George Drummond from Penylan has been instrumental in the decoration of the Cwtch giving up his free time to wallpaper and tile the room. George’s wife Elaine was admitted to the unit in November 2015 but sadly passed away in May. George has scoured local charity shops and markets to find items that would fit the room, some of which he has re-varnished or made himself to keep costs at a minimum.
George said: “When you have a relative in hospital there is a lot going on in your mind and at times it is nice to be able to switch off from what’s going on here medically and get involved in a project to benefit everyone. Little things like finding wallpaper, tiles or visiting markets and charity shops just takes your mind off things.
“The two pictures on the wall are of my wife’s family from 1905 and I managed to get the pictures onto the computer and printed them off, they are lovely and make a nice touch in the sitting room.
“The old bibles are from my stepmother from Scotland. They belonged to her grandmother and one has a date of 1794 on it and they both have hand painted pictures inside.
“Since the room has been finished and open to patients I have never seen the room empty and I used to come in here every day to visit Elaine. People are making a lot of use of it and you don’t feel like you are in a hospital environment at all.
“My wife would find comfort in this room as it would make her feel less agitated as she could come in and listen to music. I hope other patients find the same comfort.
“The effect this room has on the patients far outweighs the work that has gone into it. There is a really calming atmosphere in here and is such a contrast to what it was like before. It restores a little bit of normality to patients giving them a space to potter about in and this is the key to the success of the area.”
When the new Mental Health Services for Older People unit was opened, the design and facilities were bespoke and a quiet room was provided for patient and family use. However, over time it became apparent that the room was not being used effectively. The space was used for storage and quickly became cluttered but it now provides a quiet and inviting sitting area for everyone to enjoy.
Ben and Katherine discussed with families how they could make better use of the room following a comment from a patient that they would like to ‘sit by the fire’, so the idea of a sitting room was born.
Ward Manager Ben said: “As a team we were particularly moved by the generosity from carers, at a time when their loved ones were experiencing great difficulty with their illness. Dozens of personal items were donated which were relevant to the life history of the individual.”
Patients were heavily involved in the room as they had a say on where they wished to place furniture and items for display. They also taught the staff about the use and origin of some of the items they would have had as original items in their homes when they were growing up.
Ben said “The creation of the room itself was a refocusing activity and patients became involved in cleaning the brass and dusting the shelves. Music was played on the old record player which encouraged everyone to sing along and it was such an enjoyable project for everyone involved. We hope will certainly make a difference to patients when they are staying here.”
Refocusing Nurse Katherine explains that everyone who has come into the room has a memory of something from their past whether it’s the glass cabinet or the ornaments.
She said “It is such a simple thing to do and has worked really well because we have had such great support from the relatives, the maintenance department and estates.
“There is a lot of emotion in this room with items from patients and their families. The pictures on the wall are from a patient’s family, and there are personal touches from family members. The plates on the wall were donated by one of our physiotechs from her mother.
“It’s engaged the relatives, the staff and patients and it has been a collective project. It’s been just as important for the families to have something else to focus on and keep busy while their loved one is in hospital. To have something else to think about other than a hospital visit means a lot to them.”
Katherine and Ben are both grateful for the support, interest and commitment from families and carers who helped to make the Cwtch into the comfortable space it is now.
Susan Beck’s husband William from Barry is a patient on East 18. Susan believes that places like East 18 are essential for families and patients and every time you come through the door you see a friendly face and know that your loved ones are being cared for.
She said “The Cwtch is so positive and offers so much for people who live in the past and don’t live in today. The majority of people may not realise that with Dementia and Alzheimer’s the brain looks backwards not forwards, so any form of stimulation from the past for people like my husband and other patients is essential.
“If a young person can walk into this room and say it’s just like walking into my Nan’s house, imagine what this room does for patients who actually do live in that world. Patients can come in here and lift a book, look at the ornaments and it will take them back to their younger days.
“If someone can walk in here and spend just half an hour in here it will make such a difference to their wellbeing. It’s lovely to sit in here and look around. I can see things in here that take me back to when I was growing up.”
Lyn James’ husband Roger from Thornhill is a patient on the ward and describes the new Cwtch as a great addition because it’s somewhere he can go and listen to music through the old records provided.
Lyn said: “Everybody has really signed up and got involved in the decoration of the room and wanted to bring things in to contribute. I’m still keeping a look out now for things when I’m out and about that I think would be nice in here.
“We’ve had one of the patients who would sit in the corner doing her knitting as if she was back at home, with the music on and it’s just a lovely environment. It’s so homely, quiet and pleasant.
“It really does benefit patients and it has been proven by how often the area is being used. It has been such an enjoyable project for everyone and it’s nice for people who have visitors to have somewhere else to sit too.”
