Robot cats used for North Yorkshire dementia care
The County Council's also launched a "café in a box".
North Yorkshire County Council have launched a series of strategies to help people living with dementia during the coronavirus pandemic.
As regular meet-ups and organised events have been cancelled, there is a risk people could become disengaged, and more confused.
The council funds charity Dementia Forward to provide care in the county, and they're using robotic pets to help.
Jill Quinn, Chief Executive of Dementia Forward, said: “Ordinarily at Dementia Forward we run 15 weekly pop-up activities, some with as many as 40 to 50 people attending, but obviously because of Covid-19 we cannot run them in the same way.
“The main focus on these groups is wellbeing with meaningful activities that promote laughter, socialising and peer support.
“At the minute we are getting quite a lot of emotional calls to our helpline from people who are saying their relatives with dementia are deteriorating because they can’t get out and about."
To help people stay occupied, staff and volunteers launched a Café in a Box scheme, including activities like jigsaws and games, as well as tips for caregivers, and of course, teabags!
With funding from Knaresborough Rotary Club, robotic cats are also being used, to help people stay calm.
50 of them are set to be distributed by Christmas.
Jill added: “They are very lifelike and purr and react when they are stroked.
“They can provide comfort for a person with dementia who is anxious or unable to settle by providing a calming effect.
“One example we witnessed was a woman who was very into arts and crafts, but her dementia meant that she would get anxious and wasn’t able to stay involved in any activity.
“But once we placed the cat on her knee she sat and stroked it – it created a calming distraction which enabled her to stay focussed and enjoy the activity.”