Stepping into the shoes of dementia as virtual tour bus enlightens Taunton

Home Instead, care provider, hosted a dementia awareness event featuring the Virtual Dementia Tour bus, a unique simulator providing insight into the challenges of living with dementia. On Monday, May 13 the group held the event at its offices in Pitts Close, Galmington. The highlight of the event was the Virtual Dementia Tour bus, a simulator that provides insight into what living with dementia might be like.

The bus uses specialist equipment and a simulated environment to give participants a taste of the daily challenges faced by those living with dementia. Participants were given tasks to perform on the bus, allowing them to experience firsthand the difficulties dementia patients face.

Among the attendees were the Mayor of Taunton, Nick O’Donnell, and George D. G. Rawlings, Constituency Assistant for the Office of Rebecca Pow, MP Member of Parliament for Taunton Deane. Health professionals from College Way Surgery also joined the event.

The Virtual Dementia Tour is managed by Training 2 CARE and is the only medically and scientifically proven method of giving a person with a healthy brain the experience of what dementia might be like.

Dr Mark Hunt, owner of Home Instead Taunton and West Somerset, said: “As a company that supports older people with dementia living at home, Home Instead sees the impact that the condition has on families and those in the community.”

Dr Hunt emphasised the importance of early diagnosis and the usefulness of the dementia checklist in identifying common signs of the condition. He also highlighted the company’s commitment to raising awareness during Dementia Action Week, run by the Alzheimer’s Society.

Home Instead’s dementia training programme is City & Guilds assured and has even won a Princess Royal Training Award. Their Care Professionals are equipped with the empathy, knowledge, and skills to respond to common dementia symptoms and enable older people to live at home safely and happily.

For more information about the dementia checklist or Home Instead’s care services or career opportunities, please email community@tauntonsomerset.homeinstead.co.uk or ring 01823 211121.