Puttenhoe, Rivermead and Brookside care homes in Bedford have all received awards for their use of interactive therapies to enhance the well-being of their residents.
Since January 2022, six care homes in Bedford Borough have been trialling Reminiscence Interactive Therapy Activities (RITA) equipment, designed to enhance the quality of life for residents by exercising their minds and triggering memories.
Each home had one large and one small device for staff and residents to use.
RITA devices are designed to provide residents with various interactive activities tailored to their individual interests and life experiences.
Activities include virtual travel, memory games, music therapy, and viewing old photographs and videos, among others.
My Learning Network recognised each of the three care homes for their use of RITA devices for continuity of care (Puttenhoe), for one-to-one dementia care (Rivermead) and for people with learning disabilities (Brookside).
Staff at the participating care homes have found RITA, which can be used as part of group work or individually, provided residents with a sense of empowerment and independence, enabling residents to reminisce, share stories and connect with others in a meaningful way.
Relationships and activity groups of residents with a shared interest have been formed, for example, at one care home a group of residents enjoy listening and singing to hymns together and while another group enjoy watching old sports clips together.
Sandra, a resident at Puttenhoe said, that she “likes to do word searches every day as it keeps her brain going” and that “the exercises are fun too”.
Cllr Dean Crofts, Portfolio Holder for Adult Services said, “Well done to staff and residents at our care homes for embracing this new technology. We are delighted to have been a part of this trial of RITA equipment.
“This technology has the potential to significantly enhance the quality of life for our residents, and we are excited to see the impact it has had on their well-being.”
With both staff and residents benefiting from RITA, the council is considering how this technology can be rolled out to other homes and possibly into the wider community in the future.
