Offer dementia patients activities to boost well-being

People living with dementia should be offered activities such as exercise, aromatherapy, art, gardening, baking, reminiscence therapy, music therapy, mindfulness and animal assisted therapy to help promote their well-being.

That is the view of NICE, who have included the recommendation in its quality standard on dementia, which highlights the need to offer carers of people living with dementia education and skills training.

This can include education about dementia, its symptoms and the changes to expect as the condition progresses. Skills training could include personalised strategies to help them provide care, including how to understand and respond to changes in behaviour. It also recognises the importance of providing informal carers with the support they need to enable them to manage the stresses and demands of caregiving and to fulfil their role.

NICE argues that people living with dementia and people involved in their care should be given the opportunity to talk about their life experiences, preferences, interests, strengths with a healthcare professional. This can help the person living with dementia to choose activities to promote wellbeing that suit their preferences and needs.

Gillian Leng, deputy chief executive and director of health and social care at NICE, said: “People with dementia can find it harder to take part in activities, to engage socially, to maintain their independence, to communicate effectively, to feel in control and to care for themselves. Providing enjoyable and health-enhancing activities like music or reminiscence therapy can help with this.

“Understanding the activities that a person prefers and thinks are suitable and helpful, and adapting them to their strengths and needs, will make a person more likely to engage with the activities offered and therefore more likely to benefit from them.”

Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock said: “As a society there’s so much more we can do to help people live well with dementia. Whether joining a choir, gardening or enjoying art classes, so many activities can help people live and can trigger precious memories and help reconnect them with their communities. So I wholeheartedly endorse this new guidance, which supports the ambitions of our NHS Long Term Plan and its move to a more personalised and person-centred care.”