Activities at Red Oaks Care Home

It is important to find ways to help individuals with dementia live a full, enriched life. We all want to stay connected and maintain our relationships with loved ones living with dementia. Here at Red Oaks, we’ve put together some helpful information on how to keep your loved one’s calm, interactive, and engaged through sensory stimulation. 

Sensory stimulation is the activation of one or more of the senses including taste, smell, vision, hearing, and touch. It can range from something as simple as a hand massage with scented lotion or listening to a playlist of favorite music to more complicated activities designed to provide a sensory experience. It can help people with dementia call up positive memories and emotions, and encourage them to communicate and engage with the people around them.

In addition to evoking positive feelings, sensory stimulation can also help people with dementia communicate. By using certain objects, sensory stimulation can help residents who are struggling to communicate and relate to the world around them ask questions, respond to verbal clues, or remain calm in a stressful situation.

Other benefits of sensory stimulation include: improving cognitive symptoms and maintaining daily function; encouraging participation in social groups; opportunity for reflection and trips down memory lane; increased concentration and alertness and easing communication.

More Radio are running a campaign to collect 10,000 tins of food for Sussex food banks and Red Oaks Care Home in Henfield have volunteered to be a collection point for the village. 

Unfortunately more people are having to rely on food banks every day to feed themselves – and their families. According to the Trussell Trust, food bank use in Sussex has increased by 40% over the last 5 years

More Radio are working in conjunction with charities and food banks across the county, including the Trussell Trust, Fare Share, Doms Food Mission, Surviving the Streets, and Empty Plate Café.  

Linda Ryan, General Manager at Red Oaks said "Donations are needed more than ever before so until Sunday 29th September Red Oaks we will be collecting tinned foods and donating them to the More Radio appeal. We are pleased to offer our services to this wonderful cause and support the local community in this campaign. Anyone that would like to donate tins can simply drop them at the Red Oaks reception.  

HART (Henfield Area Response Team) joined us to deliver a demonstration & talk. HART responders are all local volunteers from the Henfield area, committing time on a regular basis to offer support to the local community. They are dispatched by the South East Coast Ambulance Service (SECAmb) to provide immediate care to those in the area who have fallen ill. HART responders are trained to attend emergency calls received by the ambulance service, giving life-saving care in the minutes before the ambulance arrives.

Some of our residents were treated with an outing to Brighton. The residents went to see a recital at the Chaper Royal at the end of August. They listed to 'Songs for Summer' by Yvonne Patrick – Soprano and Gary Prior – Pianist.

The recital was thoroughly enjoyed by all, with a picnic lunch and an additional treat of driving by Brighton's race course. The races were a hit among the residents. Joan said that the music was lovely to listen to and a real treat. Kate said that she had a ‘fabulous time’.

One of our residents made a request to have a meal with a captain of a cruise ship. Having dressed up for the occasion, the resident not only had lunch with the captain but sat on the captain’s table in our dinning room.

Our nurse enjoyed swapping his career and becoming a captain for a day. This event made everyone smile and a wish came true. Making wishes come true, listening to our residents and understanding enhancement of well-being is important to the whole team. 

Red Oaks Care Home, in Henfield was full of animal mischief when Dooley the 3 year old Miniature Shetland Pony came to visit the home.

Residents at Red Oaks were pleasantly surprised to see Dooley roaming around their garden as pet therapy.

General Manager, Linda Ryan said: “Our residents have really enjoyed their unusual visitors today.  We knew that having Dooley here would be a bit of fun for all our residents, especially as some find it difficult to go on many outings in our minibus.  We are always looking for new activities for the residents and today we have seen the seen the enjoyment and the therapeutic influence animals can have on people.”

The residents were very excited and touched by the Pet Pal Therapy's pony: “As a child I used to love all the animals on the nearby farm. Today was very enjoyable and it was wonderful that the animals were free to roam amongst us.”