No one likes spending time in hospital. However, this type of anxiety is often heightened for those with dementia or delirium which can lead to such patients displaying agitation and distressed behaviour. It was against this backdrop that the staff in Ward 32 which is a Care of the Elderly ward in the Victoria Hospital, created a new café for patients who, they felt, would benefit from more personalised surroundings. The café, is themed like a 1960’s style diner and in addition to providing a safe space where patients can relax and enjoy a cuppa or a snack, the café area will also be a space where patients can spend time with visiting loved ones as the current restrictions ease.
The name ‘Bus Stop Café was chosen on the basis that disorientated patients on the ward often looked for a bus stop to help them navigate to a place of comfort. Indeed, a large graphic on the entrance to the café displays an old photo of the bus stop on the nearby Kirkcaldy promenade.
One clear benefit of the new area is how it will support better nutrition and fluid intake, which is particularly important in the care of those with dementia and delirium. It is common for elderly patients who are unwell or who are distressed to experience a lack of appetite, which can then hamper their recovery. By creating a more familiar café-type environment, it is hoped that this will encourage patients to take on the fluid and nutrition necessary to improve their physical health. Another great benefit is that activities like dominoes, painting and jigsaws which are known to be fantastic for the stimulation of patients and which would normally have to have taken place at the patient’s bedside, can now be done within the café, away from the hustle and bustle of the busy ward environment.
Local artist Karen Masters, a Curator of Therapeutic Design, drew up the final designs for the café area which was funded by donation of £5000 from the Small Grant fund of the Fife Health Charity.
The use of reminiscence is well known to support the care of patients with dementia, both as a means of reducing distress and to helping retain cognitive function. Karen designed the café in a 1960's style for this reason, with a number of features familiar to elderly people from days gone by.
The name ‘Bus Stop Café was chosen on the basis that disorientated patients on the ward often looked for a bus stop to help them navigate to a place of comfort. Indeed, a large graphic on the entrance to the café displays an old photo of the bus stop on the nearby Kirkcaldy promenade.
The opening of the new café coincides with the annual Dementia Awareness Week, which runs from 31 May to 06 June 2021 and seeks to improve the lives of people affected by dementia.
