/Adjusted%202021%20Originals/DRCS%20Logo%20BrandMark%20Positive%20w%20Square%20BG%20Left%20Aligned%20PNG-min.png?width=95&height=99&name=DRCS%20Logo%20BrandMark%20Positive%20w%20Square%20BG%20Left%20Aligned%20PNG-min.png "DR Care Solutions | Your Care, Your Support, Your Way | Aged Care & Disability Care Consulting Services")
Being unprepared for caring for someone with dementia sees talented carers simply walk off the job. Our aged care sector cannot afford this outcome.
© Danielle Robertson Consulting Pty Ltd t/as DR Care Solutions
Two entrepreneurial Australians, Paul King and Dianne Flakus, co-founders of YesVR, are offering a solution.
They are introducing training, using virtual reality (VR) technology, to help prepare carers for the scenarios they may face and how best to handle them, in the interests of both the patient and their own job satisfaction.
The ideas was seeded by two experiences. Dianne's personal experience of providing end-of-life care for her ageing parents. The second was reading the following experience[1] shared by an aged care worker during the hearings of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety (October 2018 - March 2021).
"I was repeatedly assaulted by residents. I have received blows, kicks, headbutts, twisting of the skin on my arms, grabbing and squeezing of my hands and arms, attacks with faeces, verbal abuse and threats," the aged care worker said.
When the worker informed her manager that she had been assaulted by a resident, the manager shrugged her shoulders and said, "That's dementia." To the worker, it seemed accepted that these types of incidents occurred in their workplace.
Handling patients with dementia can be very difficult. It is yet another layer of pressure, and often a demoralising one, placed on residential and in-home aged care staff.
Paul and Dianne firmly believe that effective training to manage a patient with dementia can make the difference between things going smoothly, and things getting totally out of control with the serious consequences.
"Imagine if staff, volunteers and carers could be transported into these types of difficult situations and have opportunities to practise dealing with them in a safe, non-threatening environment," says Paul.
"Using virtual reality, we carefully curate scenarios that simulate difficult workplace incidents. In this non-threatening training environment, carers can immediately see the consequences of their choices. In some cases their decisions may result in negative, sub-optimal outcomes. In others, more positive results may be achieved from better choices and critical thinking.
"Virtual reality training gives the opportunity to apply knowledge and practise skills to handle these and other difficult situations better, when they occur in real life, at work."
The technology is now coming of age and ready for use in the aged care sector. A recent PwC study[2] revealed that learning through VR makes learners three times more confident to apply their skills, than skills learnt in a classroom or e-learning setting.
As YesVR Director of Learning Design, Dianne is passionate about bringing this immersive, visceral and meaningful training into the aged care sector:
"Implementing this very effective training will help support staff and carers manage difficult situations, and in turn help the residents and elderly to receive dignified, empathetic care."
If you would like to know more about how this innovative Australian company is bringing VR training to the aged care industry, contact YesVR on 0403 223 569 or hello@yesvr.com.au or visit their website: yesvr.com.au.
For guidance on caring for your loved one who lives with dementia, please don't hesitate to call me, Danielle Robertson, for an initial discussion on how to set up the right care, support and assistance at the right time and in the right place:
Resources
[1] Royal Commission: Restraint Practices; Physical & Sexual Assault in Aged Care
[2] PwC Study: Virtual Reality Redefining Soft Skills Training
