Care Home teams up with local designer to develop sensory aids for dementia care

Holly Oak dementia care home has teamed up with local designer Samboards to provide those in their care with an innovative new sensory aids. Newly opened Holly Oak is at the forefront of genuine person-centred care with its state-of-the-art 45 bedroom dementia care home, set in an idyllic park overlooking the town of Dursley in Gloucestershire.

Samboards specialises in designing sensory pads which have been proven to alleviate the effects of cognitive conditions, including dementia. The sensory pads are designed so that when they are touched, held, and generally fiddled with, they promote positive cognitive responses and release endorphins by distracting the brain from negative situations and feelings.

The Samboards Sensory Pads have seven different textures which provoke different cognitive reactions, providing a range of purposes. These include supporting breathing exercises; improving concentration; calming; and improving hand control and fine motor skills.

However, the most ground-breaking aspect of the sensory pads for elderly care is that they can promote memory building and retrieval. When feeling and touching the different parts of the pad, the brain is experiencing something different and new. This allows the brain to build more pathways. The more pathways the brain has, the more accessible routes your thoughts can take. This in turn makes brain ageing and memory loss less noticeable. Tactile sensors often become under-stimulated in older age and especially in dementia patients. With the sensory pads, brain sensitivity can be rebuilt, which can alleviate the cognitive impairment to the brain caused by dementia.

The technology used in Samboards sensory pads, and the positive reactions shown by residents at Holly Oak, mark another step forward in dementia care. As well as helping to alleviate symptoms of cognitive impairment and memory loss, the pads have been shown to provide feelings of comfort and anxiety relief, so their uses really are far reaching. Residents at Holly Oak can now enjoy the benefits of this locally sourced technological advancement.

Holly Oak has been working closely with Samboards to help tailor the sensory pads to their residents. Currently, Holly Oak is assisting Samboards in developing bed-mounted versions of the pads, with the aim of providing their benefits to people unable to access them whilst seated due to postural difficulties. This will ensure that people with reduced mobility have the opportunity to use the pads, particularly those who may need them most.

Andy Western from Samboards and Duncan Pyne, Registered Manager at Holly Oak are also planning to work closely together on potential future developments and new products; together they are extremely enthusiastic about the huge difference these developments could make to improving the quality of life for people with dementia.

This collaboration is a wonderful demonstration of the dedication to provide the best care possible. Aside from the benefits of the Samboards sensory pads for residents, it marks a heart-warming show of solidarity by local businesses coming together to support their elderly community.

What is particularly encouraging is the difference this sort of technology can make to a difficult and challenging later-life illness. These sensory pads have the potential to allow people to reconnect with their elderly loved ones with memory loss, and the difference this could make to quality of later life is immeasurable.