Page 36 - Sweet Harmonies

Introduction
It's been a busy and exciting start to the year at Prospect Bank. Prospect Bank is part of Findlay House, a specialist Dementia unit in Leith. Artlink and staff have been working together to create a positive environment for those that live and work there, looking at ways to sustain activity by bringing the local community and different arts organisations into the unit to add to what's available.
A couple of highlights have been the fantastic 'Step in Time' project provided
by Dancebase; this included training sessions in creative movement for staff to which we invited activity coordinators from three hospitals around Edinburgh. The talented Dancebase artist Sheena Byrne then followed this by providing 8 Dance for Dementia sessions for staff and residents at Prospect Bank.
We have learned much about inviting in other organisations and we enjoyed seeing staff and residents connect with each other through dance and movement. We would like to explore these sorts of partnerships in more detail.
Our next adventure is to transform the garden and break-out area in time for the spring with TCV (The Conservation Volunteers). Working alongside staff, residents and families we hope to create a Dementia-Friendly Garden that will become the place to relax in. We all agreed that it's important to have space for some quiet time during a busy working day.
Reading Friends has quickly become a rm favourite on the weekly calendar. A few of our brilliant volunteers and our volunteer coordinator Simon Jay have been visiting weekly and reading to patients. This is an ongoing project which we hope to embed into the unit over the coming year.
Prospect Bank
36 Sweet Harmonies