Dementia care
At TLC Care we focus on building personal relationships that enable independence and creativity. Our holistic approach includes specifically-designed facilities, tailored wellbeing programmes, life story work and engagement with specialist dementia care organisations.
Our person-centred approach to caring for residents living with the dementia diagnosis, means we get to know them closely and create a family environment that is designed to stimulate cognitive abilities. Our homes use colour, design and objects to evoke cherished memories of familiar surroundings in our retrospective rooms and other sensory areas.
Our dedicated wellbeing teams create tailored programmes filled with daily stimulating activities that are designed to embrace our residents’ individual passions and interests. This way with specialist support we create a healthy lifestyle for each person with dementia living in our welcoming care homes.
Using the latest research, we adopt relevant learning advancements and techniques so that all our residents receive exceptional dementia care in a safe and compassionate environment.
What does dementia care mean in our TLC Care homes?
At TLC Care, dementia support means providing the highest quality of care to people living with the dementia diagnosis, in a home that feels like their own. At our care homes we strive to give our residents the independence to complete everyday tasks, all while receiving highly personalised care in our safe home environment. This way residents, whether they are in the later or still in the early stages of dementia, get the chance to be their own person, which helps build up their self-esteems and confidence.
The dementia care we provide is highly tailored, as we understand that not everyone experiences the same dementia symptoms. To give both you and your loved one a peace of mind, we discuss the care options in great detail, to ensure no one has any questions left unanswered. With 24/7 support and customised dementia care, our TLC Care homes provide a safe, friendly and compassionate atmosphere for all our residents.
Alongside the comprehensive care we offer, our residents are always encouraged to stay active and enjoy various luxury amenities, wellbeing facilities, as well as partake in activities and events, which help create a feeling of overall wellness in our residents. On top of that, regular dementia-specific events are organised throughout all of the TLC Care homes, to give our residents the chance to share their stories, relate to others and see that they are not alone living with this diagnosis.
Every year our care homes are inspected by CQC (Care Quality Commission) and TLC Care prides itself with the high scores achieved year after year. We work to continuously improve the live of our residents in more efficient ways and make the stay at our homes fun and pleasant.
Most common types of dementia
- Alzheimer’s disease – it’s the most frequent type of dementia, caused by particular changes in brain function. In the beginning, it affects a person’s short-term memory and as the disease progresses it can bring up long-term memory loss and even cause difficulties when walking and talking, as well as creating personality changes.
- Vascular dementia is usually caused by cardiovascular issues, such as suffering from a stroke, high blood pressure, or restricted blood flow to the brain. The severity of symptoms depends on how much of the brain is affected. This type of dementia progresses in a less linear way, meaning that symptoms can get worse suddenly, and stagnate for a while before getting worse again.
- Lewy body dementia is caused by faulty protein clumps, called Lewy Bodies, accumulating in the cells of the brain. This disease breaks the nerve connections and reduces the levels of important chemicals from being produced and sending signals through the brain. It usually develops at a slow rate, therefore the detrimental symptoms are most frequently spotted among the elderly.
- Frontotemporal dementia is caused by abnormal protein clumps forming and damaging the brain cells. This type of dementia can cause extreme changes in personality, increased antisocial behavior, reduced empathy, as well as loss or deterioration of speech and language. As the disease progresses, memory problems begin occurring alongside possible physical and mental health difficulties.
- Mixed dementia patients suffer from more than one type of dementia. The most common combination is Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia, although others are entirely possible. The symptoms of this disease vary in different people, depending on which dementia type is predominant.
How we keep our dementia residents engaged
We understand the importance of keeping our dementia residents engaged physically, mentally and socially. This way we can ensure their overall well-being. By highly tailoring our in-house activities and events, we strive to keep the days at TLC Care fun and interesting and the community connected! Through events such as Dementia Cafe, we give our residents the opportunity to share their stories and relate to other individuals, who may be in similar circumstances. This way our residents, as well as their loved ones, get the validation that they are not alone.
On top of our events and activities, we also offer a vast variety of luxury amenities and well-being facilities to our residents. These help them continue their own personal routines independently in a safe care home environment, as well as provide them with many beautiful spaces to socialise, get pampered and entertained in. We strive to provide the very best to our residents through our award-winning care, activities, events and facilities.
What are some signs and symptoms of dementia?
Dementia comes in many different types and combinations. Its signs can differ from person to person, therefore it is difficult to pinpoint the exact signs of the disease. However, there are some commonly spotted indicators of early dementia in patients. Such signs are usually noticed across the spectrum of memory loss, changes in attention span, worsened communication skills, and judgment. These issues can often manifest themselves through patients forgetting the names of close family members and old memories, getting lost in familiar areas, as well as not being able to complete regular tasks independently. Drastic mood and behaviour changes or even deteriorating use of language and movement are important signs to look out for, as they indicate a cognitive decline. As mentioned previously, different dementia types create different symptoms from person to person, which makes it difficult to spot rarer types of the disease early on. Although dementia currently has no cure, certain medications, treatments, and support services are available to maintain a better level of cognitive function for a longer time, but this, unfortunately, doesn’t stop the underlying damage happening in the brain.
