The Elderflowers
The Elderflowers are a team of carefully selected professional performers who are specifically trained to work in healthcare environments with people with dementia. The Elderflowers appear as an extended family of brothers, sisters and cousins.
The Elderflowers programme offers a unique approach to dementia care. It was launched in 2001 and aims to benefit men and women aged 60 years and over, who are in hospital care and who are suffering from advanced dementia and other conditions including Alzheimer's, Vascular Dementia, Pick's Disease and Huntington's Disease. Referrals include patients in long-term care, assessment care and respite care.
People with dementia who are in hospital care are likely to experience a range of related needs and issues alongside their medical condition. These can include depression, feelings of isolation, difficulty with self-expression, difficulty socialising with others, sensory decline and lack of contact outside the ward. The Elderflowers programme offers interventions that help to normalise the healthcare environment - providing creative and humorous contact that is both for and about the individual participant.
Our aim is to continue to expand the Elderflowers programme throughout Scotland and to remain at the forefront of this approach to dementia care as new programmes develop all over the world.
Watch the Elderflowers
Red Nose Coming! is an independent, educational film commissioned and produced by the Dementia Services Development Centre (DSDC) at the University of Stirling about the use of humour in the Elderflowers programme. The DVD was filmed in 2003 over the course of three different Elderflowers sessions at Borders General Hospital.
To purchase a copy of the film from the DSDC please visit their website, http://dementia.stir.ac.uk, or call them on 01786 467740.
