An Active Occupational Therapy Programme for the Severely Demented Patient in a Psychogeriatric Day Hospital

This article describes how an alternative occupational therapy programme has been devised for a group of severely demented patients attending Roborough Day Hospital, Eastbourne. The introduction of the programme has resulted in more care and attention being given to this group of patients and also in an improved level of job satisfaction for the occupational therapy staff concerned. The initiative for the innovation came from the occupational therapy helpers, who are responsible for its planning and implementation. The occupational therapist's role has been to monitor the work and give advice and support when necessary.