Establishing a new home
A new resident* who presented with complex behaviours has moved into Altona Gardens Care Community. Our team are working with the resident and her family to provide her dementia support and ensure she settles in well and feels comfortable as she is transitioning into our dementia care.
Upon arrival the female resident displayed behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD). For example, she would frequently try to leave our Care Community and at times demonstrated feelings of anger and frustration as well as insomnia. The resident also experiences chronic osteoporosis and osteoarthritis pain.
Our team spoke at length with the resident, her family and partner to understand her social and emotional needs. By mapping out her life history and finding out where her memory takes her, our team were able to put an appropriate dementia care plan in place to ensure we meet her needs and preferences.
After in depth discussions with the resident we recognised that she perceived herself to be living in her 40s and 50s, rather than in the present day as an older person. Involving the residents’ daughter and partner in the discussions was vital, as they were able to share that the resident was grieving the loss of her son (which occurred many years earlier) and had been visiting his grave weekly.

Helping our resident connect with others
Our team asked the resident’s family to bring in personal photos in that could be displayed around her bedroom to support reminiscence and further memory mapping.
They spent time getting to know the resident and understanding her interests, so they could create an environment where she can participate socially with others and do things that she enjoys.
Our team are helping her connect with other residents. She has started bonding with our Customer Support Coordinator who is regularly spending quality time with her.
Our team continue to review the resident’s dementia care plan as we get to know her more deeply. We build this knowledge through team huddles, updates in handovers, and through practical education sessions with the team.

Finding safety and security in our care
The resident has started engaging in meaningful tasks around our Care Community, such as setting and clearing activity spaces, gardening, helping our catering team to clear the lunch and dinner trollies. Our team has observed that socialising with other residents enables her to feel safe and secure.
One thing we learnt early on is that our resident is Welsh and still speaks in her native tongue. Now that she feels safe and secure in her surroundings, she has offered to teach our team how to speak Welsh.
Our Altona Gardens Care Community team continue to encourage our resident to live with meaning and purpose in our care. The complex behaviours that were evident when she first moved in have settled. She has structure and purpose in her day and, importantly, enjoyable things to look forward to – socialising and participating in Care Community life.
*Our resident has asked to remain anonymous.