Where or When
Raising awareness of older people living with Alzheimer’s Disease and other dementias, and promoting a respectful, holistic approach to their care
This short play was commissioned by a major NHS Trust that was concerned about older people with Alzheimer’s Disease and other dementias - both as inpatients and outpatients - not being treated with enough respect and that staff were not taking the time and trouble to look at their cases holistically.
This play was created to give a greater awareness to those healthcare staff looking after an older person with dementia that time should be taken to look at the patient’s back story and to consider whether outpatient appointments are always essential, given the challenges of getting that patient to a big confusing hospital space.
In this story there is Sylvia - a retired hospital matron of the ‘old school’ now living with Alzheimer’s Disease but constantly talking to health staff as though she is in control. None of them know about her previous life as a matron and Queens Nurse recipient for rescuing passengers from the London bombings. They just see her as an old, confused lady with dementia - but we find out, and the healthcare staff learn too, that she is much more than this and as they learn about her, their approach changes as do her treatment options.
The play includes scenes where the approach of professionals is presented as questionable and then followed up with how a situation or consultation could have been handled by staff more appropriately. It prompts staff to consider that a patient with dementia can still manage meaningful relationships, in this story, with the patient’s autistic and disabled grandson. The play also highlights whether medication used to subdue dementia patients is ever appropriate.
