Patients, staff, carers, and community members came together for tea, music, and conversation in a series of heart-warming sessions celebrating friendship and person-centred care.
A series of Tea and a Blether cafés hosted during Dementia Awareness Week proved to be a great success, offering a warm and inclusive space where people connected through conversation, music and shared experience.
Held through the week from each session welcomed around a dozen attendees. Inpatients from across all wards, staff, carers, and individuals with lived experience of dementia from the community came together to enjoy tea, cake, music, and a blether all in the spirit of this year’s theme of Friendship.
The atmosphere across the sessions was relaxed and welcoming, sparking moments of joy from singalongs and dancing, to emotional conversations and newfound friendships.
One particularly touching encounter took place when a patient from Ward 3, recovering from a stroke, struck up a conversation with a visitor from the community. As they spoke, they discovered they were both former Royal Marines. The connection was deeply moving and, with support from the Defence Medical Welfare Service, the patient is now set to receive a visit from a Royal Marine in uniform - a gesture expected to have a powerful impact on his hospital experience and recovery.
Another highlight came from staff in Ward 2, who noticed the friendships formed at the cafés continuing back on the ward. One patient shared simply:
“This is just the best.”
Fiona Wilson, Chief Officer of ELHSCP comments:
“These sessions showed us the value of creating a space outside of the ward where people can relax more and be themselves. It allows us to see the person beyond the illness which in turn can help us tailor care in a more compassionate and personalised way.”
East Lothian Health and Social Care Partnership extends thanks to all patients, staff, carers, and community members who helped make Tea and a Blether such a heartwarming success.