H & S Simpson Day Service Visit

Health and Social Care Students

On Thursday 2 March and Thursday 27 April, the Year 12 Health and Social Care Extended Diploma Students visited Simpson Day Service where they were taken on a tour of the facility and met the wonderful staff who spoke about all the services they provide for older people in the community. The Centre primarily supports people living with Dementia and their families. While the students were there, they interacted with the service users and took part in meaningful activities, such as movement to music, arts and crafts and board games.

The Year 12 students did the school proud and displayed excellent communication and interpersonal skills as well as confidence and kindness.

I would like to say a huge thank you to Nancy Adam, the Operational Manager Older People’s Day Services, for hosting us and I would like to thank the staff at Simpson day Service for making us feel so welcome.

Mrs. Z. Smith

Below are some quotes from the students:

“I liked getting to know the service users’ different backgrounds. I liked to hear about their past careers. They spoke passionately about these and gave me an insight into what it was like growing up in the 1950s and 1960s.” Miriam Aduteye, 12EVT.

“I enjoyed shadowing the staff and seeing them being able to support service users who have dementia, which is a condition that is unique to each individual, and also watching staff demonstrating patience and care.” Mookete Tolamo, 12MHN

“The day service had such a lovely atmosphere with supportive staff members and welcoming service users. I found it fascinating seeing all of the technological services they had available, like the simulated train, and being able to participate in these with the service users. “Ava Holly 12ERH

“I enjoyed looking at the different stages of dementia and being able to recognize the symptoms of dementia in a realistic environment despite this being quite sensitive and emotional to watch.” Evie Manners 12BDH

“Going to Simpson Day Service was my first experience of being at a day centre : I found it very informative due to the fact that each individual with dementia had a unique experience which taught me how to adapt the way I interacted with different service users. I also got the opportunity to practice many skills such as communication, compassion, empathy and the ability to read people. The different lounges gave me more insights on how to manage dementia based on the many activities that were going on.” Daphne Safo-Buaben 12MHN

“My time at the Simpsons was very educational and taught me a lot about person centered care. This is because you can focus on one individual not just based on their diagnosis but examine who they actually are. The trip also taught me to be compassionate and treat the service users with respect, putting yourself in their situation seeing and imagining how they feel (empathy), this was done through the skill of commitment. By being committed it allows you to take actions and almost form a relationship by understanding the service users.” Saida Suleiman 12SNE

I enjoyed seeing how the staff played games and activities with the individuals because they were all different and were also patient with them.” Maame Amonu Ogoe 12SAK