Dementia awareness sensory sessions, featuring specially designed dementia suits, are being introduced to train care staff, volunteers, and family members.
The suits were purchased through a collaboration between Guernsey Alzheimers and Dementia Friendly Guernsey.
Lottee Bonner, one of the island's Admiral Nurses, explained that the suits are designed to mimic the physical and sensory challenges faced by elderly people, with an emphasis on the additional issues brought on by dementia. They are equipped with weighted joints to simulate muscle weakness and arthritis, gloves to reduce dexterity and feeling, and headphones that emit a low-grade tinnitus sound to mimic hearing loss.
One of the most powerful components is a set of glasses that simulate various eye conditions such as glaucoma and cataracts, with added tape to replicate the tunnel vision that is common in dementia.
‘We walk around people with dementia all the time, and we forget that they cannot see around them,’ Ms Bonner said.
‘Having someone even very nicely come up behind them and put a hand on their shoulder can be very frightening and disorientating for them.’
According to Ms Bonner, the goal is to enhance the level of care by building ‘exemplary knowledge and compassion.’
She said that her previous experience using similar training yielded overwhelmingly positive feedback, with the empathy and care quality of staff increasing.
‘The carers can now actually understand some of the difficulties people with dementia face,’ she said, citing a simple example of a carer learning to turn a plate around for her husband, who could not see half of his food due to his vision loss.
Guernsey Alzheimer’s Association manager Julie Thompson added that the suits will hopefully be used in future ‘lunch and learn’ sessions for corporate groups to raise wider public awareness. She highlighted the urgency of the issue, noting that 209 people were newly diagnosed with dementia in Guernsey between June 2024 and June 2025.
‘Dementia is on the rise,’ she said.
‘It’s about having knowledge and using it to the benefit of the person with dementia.’
Both Ms Bonner and Mrs Thompson agreed that the suits were a vital step in educating the community.
The training aims to challenge the common misconception that dementia is solely a memory-related illness.
Ms Bonner said: ‘What people don’t realise is that dementia is hugely to do with the sensory elements.’
She emphasised the need for patience and understanding, pointing out that a person with dementia often has to stop one task to concentrate on another, a key takeaway from the training.
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