Sunrise Senior Living UK takes part in 12-month university dementia trial

A technique that helps people living with dementia to see satisfying progress in achieving everyday goals, is now being trialled by Sunrise Senior Living UK.

The University of Exeter is leading a programme to train carers in goal-orientated cognitive rehabilitation.

It entails practitioners working with people living with dementia and their carers to establish goals that are most important to helping people maintain their lifestyle, ranging from cooking food, to remembering the names of loved ones.

Story continues below

Advertisement

The Multi-centre Single-blind Randomised Controlled Trial (GREAT) was a large-scale study involving 475 people across eight sites in the UK.

Half of them received ten cognitive rehabilitation sessions over three months, and the other half did not. The group receiving the therapy then took part in four ‘top-up’ sessions over six months.

The study, which was funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and supported by Alzheimer’s Society, found that those who took part in the therapy demonstrated significant improvement in the areas they had identified, after both the ten week and ‘top-up’ sessions.

Now, as a result, the Alzheimer’s Society has funded the University researchers to implement the technique by offering training to staff in NHS Trusts and social care organisations providing care to people with dementia, and Sunrise Senior Living UK communities are amongst the organisations that are signed up: Sunrise of Tettenhall, Sunrise of Eastbourne, Sunrise of Chorleywood and Sunrise of Edgbaston.

Jackie Pool, director of Memory Care at Sunrise Senior Living UK and Gracewell Healthcare, said: “We are absolutely delighted to be working closely with the University of Exeter and trialling this ground-breaking technique, which will enable residents at our Sunrise Homes, who have a form of dementia, to live better, more enriched lives.

“This 12-month trial is just one of the many initiatives that we as an organisation are implementing, as part of our ongoing enriched memory care programme that will allow residents living with dementia to further improve quality of life and live well for longer.”