When Jayne Taylor first began delivering Ayla sessions at Lakeside Care Home, she wasn’t sure how they would be received. A few weeks in, she tells us she has been pleasantly surprised.

Lakeside, the nursing home at Standish Care Village, began the sessions in September with a first group of five residents from across our homes, each living with a different level of dementia and cognitive change. Ayla is a Cognitive Stimulation Therapy platform. Our partnership with them is part of our wider investment in dementia training and staff development, and in the confidence of the teams who support our residents every day.

The sessions take place in small groups and use themes such as emotions and word association to spark conversation and memories. That suits the person-centred approach we believe in, where each resident’s own story and preferences lead the way.

Something to look forward to

“I have really enjoyed delivering these sessions, and I find them really rewarding,” says Jayne. Residents clearly feel the same. They look forward to each session, and one lady regularly asks when the next one is.

Jayne also told us about a gentleman who shows very repetitive behaviours at other times of the day. In the sessions, he was completely engaged and contributed well, and those behaviours were not evident.

Moments that matter

In a session on emotions, Jayne asked one lady how she was feeling. “Calm,” she said, “because I’m comfortable around everyone.”

In a session on word association, the same gentleman said a nice scent reminded him of his partner, because he “loved her”. Later that afternoon, when Jayne asked whether he had enjoyed the session, he was able to recall everything they had discussed.

These are the moments that make the work so special. We love hearing about them.

Getting to know each other

The sessions have given Jayne the chance to learn what residents were like when they were younger, and residents have learned about her life outside work too. Jayne says this has helped to build trust between her and the people she supports.

Recognising our teams

Training only works because of the people who put it into practice. We want to say a big thank you to Jayne, and to every colleague who goes the extra mile to deliver sessions like these. We believe that investing in training and in staff wellbeing is central to providing person-centred care, because caring well for people depends on looking after the people who care.

For many families across Wigan, dementia affects someone they love. Our aim is for every resident to be known, listened to and valued as an individual, and stories like Jayne’s show what that looks like in practice.