SHUFFLING the furniture in care homes can have a positive impact on the behaviour of residents with dementia.
That’s according to Louise Ritchie at the University of Edinburgh, who visited 20 care homes in the UK and found that chairs were often pushed against the walls in lounge areas giving the rooms “no real purpose”.
Simply shifting the furniture in seven care homes so that chairs formed small groups or faced a window led to a 16 per cent increase in active behaviours, such as watching TV. It also led to a 5 per cent rise in social interaction.
Ritchie…
