Bluebird Care Sponsors the ‘Dementia Bus’ to Deliver Innovative Training Across the UK
01/06/2022
Bluebird Care are officially sponsoring Training 2 CARE’s latest state-of-the-art mobile dementia simulator – fondly known as the ‘Dementia Bus’ to coincide with Dementia Action Week.
Bluebird Care are officially sponsoring Training 2 CARE’s latest state-of-the-art mobile dementia simulator – fondly known as the ‘Dementia Bus’.
Launching to coincide with Dementia Action Week (16th May), the new mobile dementia simulator joins a fleet of simulation training vehicles on the Virtual Dementia Tour of the UK.
The mobile dementia simulator gives a person with a healthy brain the chance to experience what dementia might be like by replicating different symptoms and challenges faced by someone with the condition. The medically-proven training method encourages people to understand what they can change in their care practices and settings to reduce frustration and improve the experiences of a person with dementia.
Participants wear mittens in a thick material to impair their ability to perform tasks or hold items, wear headphones and glasses with altered lenses to impair their vision and make them feel disorientated, and navigate dark rooms with coloured lights to add to the disorientation and overall frustration. Participants also wear spiked insoles in their shoes to cause a pins and needles sensation – a common symptom of dementia.
The life-adjusting training is undertaken by 200,000 people each year, and has been commissioned by 18 NHS Trusts, care and nursing homes, police forces, ambulance services, universities, councils, and the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
Bluebird Care, who have sponsored the newest mobile simulator, provides home care across the UK, including to people living with dementia. Care Assistants are responsible for the delivery of care services directly to the homes of their customers. Visits cover a variety of tailored care services, from personal care to companionship, home help, to trips into the community, to 24-hour live-in care.
Dean Martin, Head of Marketing at Bluebird Care, explained:
I am proud that through teaming up with Training 2 CARE, Bluebird Care is committed to increasing dementia awareness and offering practical support to those directly and indirectly affected by the condition.
With one person developing dementia every three minutes, it is really important that society’s understanding of the condition rapidly improves.
Training 2 Care’s innovative ‘dementia bus’ gives people the opportunity to experience first-hand the frustrations and challenges people with dementia experience on a daily basis . As well as increasing awareness and improving perspectives on ageing, the training is invaluable for care workers, health professionals and anyone who knows or cares for a person with dementia.
Glenn Knight, CEO Training 2 CARE, comments:
Training 2 CARE are constantly pushing the boundaries of what can be achieved through experiential training and our nine Mobile Virtual Dementia Simulators are a powerful portal to this.
Having the support of an amazing organisation such as Bluebird Care by sponsoring the latest bus, will help us reach an even larger proportion of the UK and vitally develop skills and understanding for the people that support people with dementia daily.
Bluebird Care’s commitment to innovative delivery of the care that they provide matches our goals for training in the UK and we are excited to join them on this journey.
