Using professional artists, Creative Carers trains carers of older people in residential homes and day centres to provide creative activities for their customers, some of whom suffer from dementia.

The Creative Carers programme was devised and developed by Suffolk Artlink in partnership with Caroline Wright and Helen Rousseau.

Feedback from carers and care home managers continues to indicate a number of positive outcomes. These include increased socialisation of participants, less attention seeking from participants, reduced requests for medication in some cases, positive changes in the relationship of the carers and those they care for, leading to greater job satisfaction.

We have led a successful Creative Carers Training Programme that worked across the health and social care sectors, focusing on working with people with dementia.

In 2009 Artlink published a Reflective Study of the Creative Carers programme in order to provide guidance on future delivery and the possible expansion of the strand. 

The Reflective Study can be downloaded as a pdf file below. 

Following an award from the Baring Foundation, we are working on exciting new plans for the project - check back soon for updates!

The Reflective Study