The Queen was constant beacon on people’s dementia journey says NI care home manager

But there are those who aren’t always able to express their sense of loss who are missing the monarch more than most.

Paul Johnston, who is the manager of Palmerston, a dementia care home in east Belfast, explained how the Queen has been a constant in the lives of people with memory loss.

Today the care home held a tea party for residents focusing on the Queen through the years.

He said: “We’ve decorated the dining room and we’ll be having afternoon tea. It’s an opportunity for residents to look at photos of the Queen, to trigger their memories right from the coronation to her visits to Northern Ireland, when she visited during the Troubles and more recent visits.

“It allows them to reminisce, to go back to their memories, but also take in the history that is going on.

“It’s healthy and important for residents to be able to grieve, to watch, to know what’s going on in the world.”

He added: “Some of them might not be able to communicate but they’ve been fixated.

“We’re in east Belfast and a lot of our residents would be royalists. No matter what background residents are from there is something about the colour and the pageantry that has drawn them in.”

He said that while residents were encouraged to keep up to date with world events there was a limit: “We want the residents to be part of that history, to watch it, to reflect, to reminisce, but at the same time it’s not reasonable for somebody to watching the coverage on TV all day, every day. That can impact on low mood, which we’re very, very mindful of.

“TV can help to jog memories. In the same way that the caravan in our memory garden will trigger memories of a trip to Millisle, historic footage on television can trigger memories of their childhood, where they were when certain events happened.

“But when it becomes repetitive, sometimes it needs to be switched off because that can do the opposite of jogging a memory. It can become very confusing.”

Paul said that constants and continuity were important for people with dementia: “The Queen has been such a constant part of people’s lives, some things pass and are forgotten but the Queen is a constant. That totally ties in with what we do. The continuity of staff, the continuity of care makes sure are residents are best looked after.

“Like every care home, continuity has been a battle during Covid – a lot of staff have left care. We’ve been really fortunate, I think only a maximum of five per cent left during the pandemic.”

He said Palmerston, which is part of the Abbeyfield and Wesley care group, were blessed with staff who go out of their way for residents: “For the tea party, one of the members of staff who were on night shift went to the bakery after her shift and spent £40 of her own money to get the residents buns because she used to work on days and knows the residents – that tells you everything when staff will go out of their way like that.”

Asked what residents thought of the new King, Paul said: “Charles has been part of their life as much as the Queen has. One of the things the residents have said is there’s no one better to take over. That’s because the residents have watched Charles grow up to become the successor.”