Staff and residents at Kernow House care home in Launceston are marking Alzheimer’s Awareness Month which is taking place throughout September. 

During Alzheimer’s Awareness Month, residents are doing lots of activities by taking part in a varied life enrichment programme which keeps residents active, and provides a daily choice of engaging physical, mental and spiritual activities tailored to residents’ interests and abilities.

General manager, Leigh Stanley said: “Alzheimer’s and dementia affect many of our residents so all staff receive specialist dementia training to provide person-centred care at the heart of everything we do. 

“We are proud to provide an environment that helps residents to find their way around independently as much as possible, and that residents are happy to call home.

“We have made Memory Boxes for and with residents in our Memory Lane Community, had musical entertainers, animal visits, made collages with craft kits from Creative MoJo and had trips out in our mini bus. 

“We have also benefitted from having visits from Bailey, the Golden Retriever, who volunteers from Therapy Dogs Nationwide, with his owner, Grant.”

Alzheimer’s is a form of dementia, the loss of cognitive functioning – thinking, remembering, reasoning – which can affect a person’s day-to-day life and activities.  Functions that can be impacted are memory, language skills, visual perception, problem solving, self-management and the ability to focus and pay attention.  The number of people living with dementia in the UK is forecast to increase to over one-million.

At Barchester, who run Kernow House, they have been supporting families with pioneering dementia care in specially-designed, dementia-friendly Memory Lane communities since 1992.  

They believe people living with dementia should enjoy a fulfilled and happy life, with specialist support to continue doing the things they love every day.  

All Barchester staff receive dementia care training to ensure they provide the best for our residents, and we embrace the very latest technology and techniques to ensure our residents can live a life that feels comfortable, enriching and connected.