Dementia pub hopes to rekindle memories of patients

The Harbour, run by Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust, specialises in helping local suffers of the disease with hopes the pub will create an environment and opportunity for relatives to engage with staff as part of Dementia Awareness Week.

Once finished, the pub will include a bar with non-alcoholic drinks served from pumps with badges and cask taps to help ensure authenticity along with a gazebo area with seating for six.

There will also be a dart board and ice buckets to aid stimulation and with the hope that they may trigger conversation and stimulate memories.

Daryl Massey, assistant practitioner at the dementia unit at the Harbour, said: “We’re going for a ‘back street boozer’ look and the aim is to help people with dementia improve their well-being.

“Going into a sociable environment would help them boost their individual confidence and self-esteem and reconnect with their past." 
Massey also explained that patients are very supportive of making the experience as realistic as they can, with the pub being used for reminiscence therapy.

According to the Alzheimer's Society, reminiscence work helps people make the link between the past, the present and the future.

It also helps encourage sociability in those who are losing their communication skills while living with dementia and encourages them to talk more.