Gardening and GPS make life better - case study

Staffordshire based community mental health nurse, Karen Phillips, gives her account of helping a service user with dementia to maintain his independence with the help of a gardening scheme and a GPS tracking device, financed by direct payments
Doug is a fit and able man in his eighties who has been diagnosed with dementia.

He enjoyed going out on long walks but stopped when he became disorientated and lost his confidence. 

Doug and his wife said he had always been very active and a keen gardener, but since moving to a smaller property he no longer had a garden to tend. They also said he often became fidgety at night and was frequently “interfering with things”.

The situation at home had become stressful and quality of life for the couple was poor.

I had recently set up a gardening group for three service users supported by one adult placement worker. A float of £300 was allocated to buy plants and equipment. After many hours of determined work the garden was turned into an allotment. The scheme is funded by direct payments based on £21 per person for four hours.   

I told Doug about the group two months after his diagnosis, and he was keen to attend. His wife was relieved to know she had two afternoons a week when she did not have to worry about him, but she needed help with the rest of the week. 

We discussed his love of walking and suggested using a BUDDI GPS tracking device, which would allow him to raise the alarm if he got lost, and for his wife to locate him if she wanted to know his whereabouts.

The device has given Doug the confidence to take longer walks if he chooses. He likes using the Buddi and wears it on a neck loop as part of his dressing routine each morning. He then puts it to charge when he undresses each evening.

The BUDDI can be bought outright for £750 for the life of the unit, or £299 plus £10 per month. The latter is the option chosen by the Enablement Team. Doug’s package of two afternoons of gardening a week and the BUDDI, costs £44.50 per week, whereas two days traditional day care a week would cost approximately £106 a week. 

With these two measures in place, Doug now has the type of active routine that he is used to.  His wife worries much less about him when he is not with her, and she says he is much more settled in the evenings. The added bonus is they now have more to talk about and life is better for both of them. 

Looking to the future, I would like to set up similar small groups offering shopping or coffee mornings, cinema or bowling sessions; for service users with dementia who do not fit into traditional day service provision. 

Contact: Karen Phillips, telephone: 01543 511078, email:Karen.phillips@staffordshire.gov.uk