South London residential home Nightingale is using its Rosh Hashanah appeal to support its dementia-related services, including the creation of a purpose-built dementia unit.
Specialist activities are co-ordinated across the home, ranging from music, drama and art therapy to reminiscence programmes.
A dedicated reminiscence room houses memorabilia from the 1940s and 50s and the new unit will incorporate reminiscence kitchens, offering the familiarity of traditional recipes, flavours and smells.
Nightingale chief executive Leon Smith explained that “if you ask a dementia sufferer what they had for breakfast, they are likely to look at you blankly. But if you ask them the best way to make a decent cheesecake or blintz, you are often able to see a glimpse of their former selves.”
Judy Green — whose husband Michael is a Nightingale dementia resident — said she “could never look after him as competently as the staff at Nightingale do. We have been so grateful for the loving care he has received.”
The appeal has a target of £75,000.
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