About Namaste Care
Namaste Care was founded by Joyce Simard in 2003 to counteract the widely held (mis)perception that “there is nothing more we can do” for people with advanced dementia at the end of their lives. Research into Namaste Care shows that it is possible to improve physical and mental well-being for these people and to improve responsiveness and connection with others. Namaste Care has also been shown to improve staff wellbeing and sense of purpose as well as improving relationships with family members. All this requires staff to be equipped with knowledge, skills and a robust framework in order to provide regular structured access to social and sensory stimulation.
The World Alzheimer's Disease International Report (2022), highlights the person-centred, relationship-based nature of Namaste Care which supports and prompts care staff to become more aware of the essential human needs of their residents for love, comfort, identity, occupation, inclusion and attachment, and helps them find new ways to meet these needs.
About Namaste Care Education and Resources
Namaste Care Education and Resources (NEAR) is an online learning resource to support care homes to implement and sustain this unique care intervention for people with advanced dementia. NEAR has been developed by UK specialist nurses in the field of palliative care and care home nursing who have all implemented, researched or evaluated the impact of Namaste Care and taught its practice to others over an extended period of time.
Although the care home community see Namaste Care as an acceptable intervention offering multiple benefits for residents with advanced dementia, care staff and families, we know that new initiatives can falter, or even shut down altogether where there are insufficient resources, inadequate support and a failure to invest time and energy at the outset.
Everyone working in the care home should have an awareness of the benefits of Namaste Care. Care staff need to understand that sensory stimulation is an essential element of communication with people who live with advanced dementia and how through e.g. touch, and music they are better able to meet the psycho-social and spiritual needs of these people. Experience has shown that care homes require robust support from the beginning to achieve a successful Namaste Care programme that can be sustained over time. Following the introduction of the programme, regular ‘check-ins’ to monitor progress is important alongside ongoing opportunities for staff to raise issues and to celebrate successes.
NEAR has been established to help support not only the implementation of Namaste Care but also the sustainability of the intervention. It provides an on-going community of support for Namaste Care practitioners. This is achieved through access to an ‘on-line’ package of self-directed resources and on-going facilitated support. This enable staff to track their progress alongside other care homes, demonstrate and celebrate effectiveness of Namaste Care. This model includes a combination of live interaction, mentoring and e-learning. We hope that this variety of learning styles will foster positive outcomes and so improve care and avoid wasting time, energy and money.