EVENT OVERVIEW

About the event

Namaste has traditionally been offered to people with advanced dementia.

At St Christopher’s we have adapted this programme to include a compassionate care approach and also a broader range of conditions; people who are locked in, agitated and/or anxious, frail and elderly and for all those with palliative care needs.

• Topics
• Who is it for
• Course tutors

• What will I learn?

  The aim of the day is to:

  • develop awareness of working from a place of compassion and explore how this can enhance our practice
  • learn about principles of the Namaste Care Programme for people with advanced dementia and explore opportunities to integrate these principles, along with compassionate care for all patients/residents and carers
  • develop authentic person-centred care, working with patients at an individual level
  • gain skills in hand and foot massage to be able to deliver when appropriate to patients and carers
  • develop increased awareness about dementia and how we can improve the day to day quality of life of people with dementia in our care.

• Who is it for?

  The course is for:

  • health or social care support workers
  • registered nurses from any setting
  • ward or care home managers
  • care home activity coordinators.

• Course tutors

  Course tutors:

  Sarah Guyan Complementary Therapies Lead, St Christopher’s Hospice

  

  Maaike Vandeweghe Senior Educationalist, St Christopher's CARE

  Maaike graduated from the KATHO (Roeselare, Belgium) in 2002 as a general and mental health nurse. She started her professional career working on mental health A&E units in Belgium and then moved to Aruba (Caribbean) where she worked on a mental health A&E unit and the local prison. After working there for 3 years she moved back to Belgium and continued working in A&E and Nursing Homes.

  Maaike moved to the UK in 2006 and has since worked in Nursing Homes and Greenwich & Bexley Community Hospice where she developed a palliative care service for care homes and then also developed and established an education department. Maaike has experience of working in palliative care, mental health, dementia, prison, care homes and education and has completed various post graduate education including a PGCert in Higher Education and a MA in Education.

  Maaike has previously been seconded to the University of Greenwich as a senior lecturer and now works for St Christopher’s Hospice as Senior Educationalist where she alongside her senior leadership role leads on curriculum development and delivery.

  

  Helen Scott Independent Nurse Lecturer

  Helen is an Independent Nurse Lecturer specialising in palliative care, end-of-life care and dementia care. Before that she was a Palliative Care Nurse Lecturer and a Practice Development Clinical Nurse Specialist in the Care Home Project Team at St Christopher’s Hospice, London.

  Previously, Helen was the Editor of End of Life Journal, the British Journal of Nursing and was Managing Editor of the International Journal of Palliative Nursing.

  She is co-founder of a theatre-in-education group ‘Stories That Speak’, which provides communication skills training for people working in palliative care, end-of-life care and dementia care, via drama, role play and personal narratives.