Transcript
ASA JOHNSON:
Hello. My name is Asa Johnson. I'm the service improvement manager for Anchor, who are a care home provider. And my role is to look at ways in which we can really develop and enhance that experience for our residents across 'activities' - which I'm sure we'll talk about in a moment - food, nutrition, the environment they live in, and dementia care practise.
[TEXT ON SCREEN: What does relational care actually mean to you in your role?]
I see relational care as really day-to-day interactions that we all have as human beings, both family, friends, acquaintances, people you might bump into in the street or in the shop. It's just about having that human contact and building up those relationships with people and really making sure that what we do is in line with what the person receiving care wants and vice versa. So it's working together, rather than having this hierarchy of caregiver and care receiver.
[TEXT ON SCREEN: What would you say relational care feels like both for those giving and receiving?]
I think relational care very much feels like those interactions going somewhere and being meaningful. So when the person that's providing the support and the care and the person that's receiving that support are actually working together to achieve those everyday life goals and actually the care is very much built around what that person's experience is and what that experience that they want-- how they want that experience to be.
[TEXT ON SCREEN: So would you say it involves everyone in a care setting?]
Absolutely. You have to bring everybody together. Everybody has to work on this. No matter what their role in that care home may be, how often they may be working in that care home, everybody really has to live and breathe that relational care ethos and really see it as a community of people coming together to make sure that the experience of the people that are receiving that care is the best it possibly can be and is very much in line with how that person expects to live their life.
[TEXT ON SCREEN: What difference do you think relational care makes to everybody in the care setting?]
I think people coming together and having this experience together and letting their personalities shine through their life experiences, their day-to-day goings-on actually, A, builds on that community feel within that care setting, and the person who's giving that care, actually they're bringing themselves to work every single day. It's not about being driven by task. It's about being driven by people and you, as a person, and the person receiving that care as a person. So it's just about being more human with each other. And really, relational care-- the framework and the guidance that's been provided-- is absolutely fantastic.
But if we really look at it, it's not radical. It's everyday life. Outside of the care sector, what relational care talks about is the norm, whereas sometimes, within the care sector and in particular in dementia care, what is seen as radical is just the norm everywhere else. And it's almost about understanding that and taking a step back and thinking, let's get out of this care bubble for a moment and really think about what we're trying to achieve here. I'm not saying it's easy, but it's not radical. And I think that's the kind of mentality we have to go into this with. Actually, it's just about being human with each other.
[TEXT ON SCREEN: So if somebody was thinking about adopting relational care, what would you say to them?]
First of all, don't overthink it. Really look at it as a framework for everyday life. And break it down into manageable chunks. Look at-- across the whole home-- if it's in a care home setting across the whole home, in those different areas, whether it's through the lifestyle, the wellness, the activity, the engagement, the living life piece-- what does that look like-- that formalised plan and programme of clubs and experiences-- for residents? The food and nutrition, how is that driven by residents, but also by the people that are producing that food and serving that food? The environment-- does the environment really feel like a place that people can call home? And what I call home may be very, very different to what you call home. It's about having those conversations.
Really break it down into manageable chunks and look at how it can weave across the whole home. And don't look at people's individual role, but look at people's individual personality and skill to determine how this is driven because, actually, there may be some areas that somebody would work on that perhaps traditionally didn't work in that department, if you like, within the care home. So somebody that maybe doesn't work in the catering team would have a really good understanding around how to drive a great food experience for residents in that care home based on those relationships, having those conversations. So utilising people's skills, interests, hobbies, personalities, to really help this be achievable within your care setting.