Dementiaville - Poppy Lodge

EP 1

It is predicted that 1 in 3 people in the UK will be affected by dementia in the future, and with no known cure, this complex disease can destroy recent memories but leave some older ones intact, causing patients to retreat to their past.  In Dementiaville, this compelling series uses archive footage to illustrate memories, whilst patients’ past and present are explored and new memories are created.
Galanos House care home run by the Royal British Legion in the Midlands, is a home leading the way with its approach to dementia.  As recent events are forgotten for some residents, memories from the distant past feel like the present, with residents often travelling back to memories and places from long ago.
With an approach that has been called controversial, here the staff don’t correct the residents. Instead, they embrace what they think is true. Based on a method called the Butterfly Household Model of Care used in over 100 care homes in the UK, it has proven benefits of reducing anxiety and increasing well-being. Now, to further reconnect some of the residents to their memories, this care home, with the help of their families, has agreed to recreate key moments from their past – bringing these back to life.
Background information: Poppy Lodge is a specially built dementia care unit within Galanos House, a Royal British Legion Care Home near Leamington Spa. The Lodge has been running for three years and uses a progressive approach to dementia care.  There are 30 residents – all of them associated with the Armed Forces.  They often live in their own realities and the staff work alongside the residents to bring to life those memories which allow the resident to stay as happy and contented as possible.  Craig has the full time role of Activities Co-ordinator where he tries to put residents at ease.   He works under Matron Jo-anne Wilson and no matter what stage of the residents’ dementia , the goal is for her staff  to ensure that the well-being and feelings of their residents are always  their priority.

Les Hadley –  
“Where’s me dad, Al”
Les Hadley is 91 years old and has vascular dementia. Born in 1923 and raised in Coventry, Les left school aged 14 and went to work in the Riley car factory with his dad in 1937. This is the period in time which Les reverts to on a daily basis.  He’s lived at Poppy Lodge for a year and is often to be found walking down the corridors asking where his father is.   The memories of his dad and working at the Coventry car factory are constant.  

 
The staff at Poppy Lodge go to great lengths to maintain Les’s wellbeing and enter into ‘his reality’ in order to keep those memories alive and help Les through the more difficult moments in his dementia.  His children Alan and Sue visit Les regularly and have wonderful memories of their father:  “When we were younger, Coventry was full of factory workers on bikes and we were fortunate enough to have a car at a time when not that many people had one. He loved driving and his weakness was cars…. We lived in a council house in Coventry and dad would buy a new car instead of saving up to buy a house.“  In the film, Les is happily surprised when taken for a chauffeur-driven ride in an original Riley.
 
John
John is Poppy Lodge’s youngest resident. At 56 years of age, he has a particularly aggressive form of dementia which affects the fronto-temporal lobes, namely Picks Disease.  He entered the Navy at 17 years of age and served as a helicopter rescue medic for over 15 years.
His world is increasingly shrinking. He paces constantly and cannot remember the words to have a conversation. He talks but only in short statements usually centred around “One of those days,” his stock phrase which is how he communicates. His older sister Marie knows John’s time is limited and has accepted that Poppy Lodge is where her brother will end his days.  To maintain his wellbeing, his “best mate” and carer Craig ensures that John is kept as active as possible and takes him out for regular walks and swimming sessions, as well as enjoying a pint together at the local pub. As communication dwindles, Craig tries to keep the memories of John’s naval past alive and invites the Royal Naval Association Choir, Leamington Spa to perform at the centre especially for John.

Kath
Kathleen ‘Kath’ Mann worked as a cook in a school and then in Asda.  She liked to dance with her husband Peter – they won many medals together.
She can remember being in the air raid shelter during the blitz.  She also likes to watch “Dickinson’s Real Deal” (she knows exactly what time it’s on and what channel!) as well as enjoying puzzles and knitting. She’s really chatty, outspoken and quite a character.    Her husband also lived at Galanos House in the nursing wing before he died.   
Bob and Jean
Bob was born in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire and came to live in Coventry when he was offered an apprenticeship aged 17.  He met his wife Jean in the planning office at Peugeot when he was 21 and they were married in 1956 and settled in a caravan in Rugby before they had enough money to buy a house in Coventry. They had two children and lived a simple family life and loved being outdoors, enjoying weekend trips to Wales, a place Bob particularly enjoyed visiting. Bob moved into Galanos House in 2013,  Jean struggled with this and couldn’t come to terms with not having him at home. He loved the outdoors so she ensured she would take him out to the Reservoir (Draycote Park) as often as she could.
Bob sadly died following a heart attack in the home’s gardens in September 2014.

Ethine  “Effie Flower”
Effie is Poppy Lodge’s other resident ‘matron’.   Born in 1934 and raised in Wimbledon, Effie lived a privileged life, training as a nurse in Hammersmith before going onto become a Matron at the Nelson Hospital in Wimbledon.  With no surviving family members, Effie is now alone and has Alzheimer’s.
However, her ability to travel to a happy time when her beloved father was alive and she was a busy Matron, allows Effie a greater sense of wellbeing, feeling comforted in the knowledge her family and pets are still around her. Effie is a well-known character in the home and will often be seen dispensing advice around the lounge and taking part in simple nursing tasks with staff.

Activities Co-ordinator, Craig Edser
39 year old Craig Edser was born in Essex but grew up in the United States.   He returned to the UK in 1995.  He was a martial arts instructor for 20 years and also worked as a publican and owned his own small removals firm.  When his business ventures stalled, Craig applied for a maintenance job at Galanos House.  He didn’t get the job, but manager Jo-Anne noticed the natural flair he had with the residents and his ability to put everyone at ease. So instead she offered Craig the full time role of Activities Co-ordinator, a position he has held for nearly three years.  They offer a unique approach to working with the residents who live there.  Craig says  “Each time I come into work, I have absolutely no idea what I’m going to find……...my job is to delve into the past lives of thirty very different human beings”