Short Break Stories

Whitehill Court Evening Care Service

A story by Bield Housing & Care

We provided an evening support service enabling people living with dementia in East Dunbartonshire the opportunity to go out in their local community and enjoy an evening meal and participate in activities that are meaningful to them. This also gives much needed respite to their carers and families.

What Whitehill Court Evening Care Service did

We have liaised with local support networks to increase the number of service users accessing the Evening Care Service. This includes Post Diagnostic Workers who support people when they are first diagnosed with Dementia, signposting to services which will support them and their families on their Dementia journey. We also have close contact with Carer’s Link and Ceartas Advocacy Service who refer people to our service. GP surgeries and local Hubs all have information on the evening service with self-referral forms.

We offer one night per week for four weeks to service users from 5pm til 9pm giving service users the opportunity to go out and enjoy a meal and socialise in their local community. Activities include having an evening meal at Whitehill Court or going out for a meal to local restaurants, cafes and pubs, Theatre and Pantomime trips, having theme nights in the centre all of which helps to keep service users active and feeling part of their community.

This also enables carers to have some respite from their caring role allowing them to participate in their own hobbies, meeting friends, going to the pictures or just being able to relax knowing their relative is being cared for in a safe environment. After the four week period, the service user goes on to a waiting list to return again for another four weeks another month.

Phyllis is a 77 year old lady with a diagnosis of Alzheimer type Dementia. Her daughter is the main carer and she finds it exhausting at times looking after her mother. Phyllis had been leaving the house and going on buses into Glasgow. Her daughter was then trying to trace her mother’s movements and bring her home safely.

Since starting the Evening Care Service, Phyllis seemed to have more structure to her week and no longer goes out on her own so much. Using the Evening Care Service has opened up doors to other services for her and she now uses the Daycare and the Short Breaks Service. This has been a very positive thing for her daughter and Phyllis as at times their personalities clashed and this created quite a bit of tension between them.

Staff have found that Phyllis really enjoys the company in the Evening Care Service and has been known to ask if there are any cancellations as she would like to come along as often as possible.

Mr. M. is an 88 year old gentleman with Vascular Dementia who lives with his wife and she is his main carer. Mr. M. started using the Evening Care Service in July 2016 and has since gone on to access Daycare and Mary’s Kitchen. Mrs. M. has health issues of her own and Mr. M. had started to go out on his own which was a real worry to Mrs. M. and her neighbours.

Since starting the Evening Care Service, Mrs. M. can relax in the evening catching up with friends, family and having some quiet time. Mr. M. enjoys the company, meeting new friends and feeling part of the community again.
Jean is a 70 year old lady in the early stages of Dementia, she was with her partner for 40 years until his recent death in December 2016. When she first visited Whitehill, she was very apprehensive and vulnerable not wanting her friend to leave her side. Jean had been finding herself more and more isolated and she had been looking for something to do in the evening.

After a spell in Short Breaks, she made a self-referral for the Evening Care Service and she hasn’t regretted it. Jean comes along to the service like a ray of sunshine, laughing and having fun. Jean has made great friends with other service users and staff and she is always telling everyone how much she enjoys coming to the service.

What Bield Housing & Care has learned

This funding has provided an extended service in the evening which is invaluable to carers. Evenings can be a very stressful time for people living with Dementia. Going out for a short while can help them feel more relaxed when returning home to their carer or families.

We have found that coming along to the Evening Care Service opens up doors to other services available to carers and service users. We have found that these services are invaluable to carers to help them to continue their role as carer for longer.
Top tips Bield Housing & Care's top tips for an organisation that wants to run a similar project
Tip 1:
Awareness of the service is paramount and communicating with external agencies in the community is essential.
Tip 2:
Asking Carers for input and opinions on what activities would benefit the service user as their views are very important.
Tip 3:
Knowing your client is very important because the smallest of details can make a big difference to someone with Dementia going out into the community to socialise.