Get to know your residents
A computer program helping UK aged care workers learn about the dementia sufferers they care for is building much-needed communication between the carer and resident. A Dundee University PhD student, Dr Gemma Webster, created the software titled Portrait which is a “multimedia biography” of the patient where carers access residents’ biographies through a touchscreen.
A computer program helping UK aged care workers learn about the dementia sufferers they care for is building much-needed communication between the carer and resident.
A Dundee University PhD student, Dr Gemma Webster, created the software titled Portrait which is a “multimedia biography” of the patient where carers access residents’ biographies through a touchscreen.
The software, which will reportedly help busy care staff learn more about the people they look after, holds a digital timeline of key events in a residents’ life, as well as a family tree and other personal information.
Dr Webster tells BBC News UK the software will act as a “communications bridge”, allowing carers to learn about residents’ lives in a relatively short time.
“Learning about a person’s past may help the caregiver by providing interesting and important information to stimulate discussion and communication,” Dr Wester says, adding establishing communication between carers and dementia sufferers can positively affect health and general wellbeing.
“This information can be difficult to obtain through patient records or discussions with family, especially when the health or medical situation often takes priority, and that’s where Portrait comes in,” she explains.
If you work at an aged care facility, how well do you know your residents? Share your thoughts on this new British software by commenting in the box below.
