Multi-sensory Machine Making for Modern Care in Crewe

Multi-sensory Machine Making for Modern Care in Crewe

A multi-sensory machine designed to stimulate the senses is making for many happy residents at Belong, all thanks to the generosity of the Crewe community over a six-month fundraising campaign in support of the village.

Residents are benefiting from stimuli for sight, sound, and touch through an interactive bubble column, colour controller, fiber optic tails, and projector for visual content.

Combined with hand massages, relaxing music and even animal visits, the high tech forms part of the village’s Namaste therapy, a person-centred care approach with the aim of promoting calm whilst reducing anxiety through sensory-rich experience. It is a common feature in leading care provision for older people, particularly those living with advanced dementia.

Village nurse manager, Jane Hughes, co-led the fundraiser. She shares more: “Namaste principles have been embedded in our approach for a number of years, complementing the more ‘clinical’ side of care. It’s one of number of things we do for our customers to continue to have human experiences, based on pleasure and emotion, in addition to meeting their physical needs.”

Selected specially, the portable equipment supports residents limited to their bedrooms, for reasons such as health, and comes off the back of success of a dedicated Namaste room introduced at Belong Crewe two years ago.

Both have been possible thanks to the generosity of the village’s customers, colleagues, and the wider community, through numerous fundraisers including sponsored bike rides in its in-house gym, Big Bingo Night, and the annual Belong Big Walk at Brereton Heath Country Park. Meanwhile, a sponsored bungee jump was led by David Bithell with the caretaker facing his fears all the way to 160ft, with support worker, Jess Murphy ultimately jumping for the good cause.

Sharon Bull, practice development facilitator at Belong Crewe, adds: “We are ever so grateful to our community for their help and donations to make this happen. We are not for profit, and this allows us to focus on the best possible care for our customers and explore different things which genuinely enhance their lives.

“We are pleased to report we’ve had a fantastic initial response from residents, some of whom can’t communicate verbally have especially enjoyed engaging, with their facial expressions speaking a thousand words.”

Belong Crewe resident, Sheila Manning (seated) tries out the new Namaste machine (L-R) Sharon Bull (practice development facilitator), Sheila Manning (resident), Jane Hughes (village nurse manager) and David Bithell (caretaker)