New "old" TV and radio.

[Pilot Mariner]

New "old" TV and Radio spotted in a hospitals in Lichfield and Burton.

Cheers

[Peter.N.]

Mmm, more substantial I suppose or it could be that if the patients are as old as me they are the only type they can operate.

Peter

[Tractorfan]

Hi,
Those radios are on sale in our local supermarket here in France. I don't know if that one is DAB, but the ones here aren't. The TV cabinet is based on a Bush 14", but can't remember which model.
Cheers, Pete.

[ianhumph]

This is to do with creating a therapeutic environment for patients that suffer with one form of dementia or other - eg. Alzheimer's.

http://www.rempods.co.uk/pod_range.html

I should say that I'm not affiliated to the company but like many have experience of the disease in a family member.

As we can see, various packages can include also include suitcase-type record players with a USB socket to play 'old-time' radio shows, for instance and tv sets that have AFAIK an in-built/concealed DVD player to show old and classic movies. Then there is furniture and backdrops too.

[paulsherwin]

It seems a bit patronising, but if it works for the patients then I suppose it's fair enough. Anything that improves the quality of life of people with these awful diseases has to be applauded.

[ianhumph]

I have to admit that I thought a few different things when I first came across these and they were mostly not exactly favourable!

Though like you say, if it helps... and there is a school of thought that people around the age of 80-90 have their best remembrances of their surroundings as youngsters and these things bring them solace.

Even if it's just for the sake of a 'comfort-zone' thing then, why not? It's used as an occasional 'device' like a recreation room, for just a couple of hours at a time.

[Brigham]

Originally Posted by paulsherwin

It seems a bit patronising, but if it works for the patients then I suppose it's fair enough. Anything that improves the quality of life of people with these awful diseases has to be applauded.

Patronising. That's exactly the word I was looking for. A comfortable old-time environment 'for them'.

[AC/HL]

It may seem it, but it isn't. Being patronised is a luxury these people don't have.
They benefit from an environment that they can relate to, familiar images, sounds, people from better times.
It's transitory anyway. Most people who get this cruel disease, and it can and will be many of us, don't have long to enjoy such comforts. Soon it won't matter to them either way.

[bobsterkent]

This is something that many hospitals are trying to create and it does seem to work, for people it gives them a sense of 'familiar' and does soothe and calm nerves. My sister is involved with a smaller installation and for those who are affected by this condition it gives them less to worry about.

I think the one pictured here is this one:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/ar...en-judges.html

[threeseven]

It's a fair bet that many here of a much younger age yearn for a certain time in the past, I know I do. The very interest that brings us here suggests that we prefer the technology of the past and very likely the lifestyle too. The world now seems so ephemeral and transitory, with little time to become familiar with one social and technical scenario before it is obsolete and replaced with something very different and perturbing.
I suppose the past always seems better for the aging generations though, even the times we live in now will be nostalgic for the generations raised then.

[Junk Box Nick]

Originally Posted by AC/HL

It may seem it, but it isn't.

Thank you for this comment. I have had a lot of personal close-up experience of this disease. It is very upsetting for relatives when someone does not recognise you any more and disappears into a long ago time - perhaps before they were married and their children were born. Some are in constant distress trying to find people or things that are no longer there. Artifacts, TV and radio shows and music and entertainment from past times bring comfort - and for some just a little respite from their endless torment.

[threeseven]

Hopefully, one day soon, a cure or a way to prevent this dreadful condition will be found.

What a brilliant idea, as to patronising I doubt the wonderful staff think of it like that. We all need an anchor sometimes.

[paulsherwin]

Those of us that find this stuff patronising aren't in a position to benefit from it (fortunately). It really doesn't matter how we would feel if surrounded with this stuff. People with dementia have lost the ability to interact with the world in a rational manner, and if this fake 50s/60s set dressing makes them more comfortable then I'm all for it. They deserve all the help they can get.

[Radio Wrangler]

Ignoring disabilities, look at the ergonomics... A telly with two knobs. One does volume, one changes the station, AND the stations stay in the same places. You don't really need a lot more than that.

to drive my microwave cooker:
Press 'Time'
Press up down buttons while staring at the display to set the wanted cooking time.
Press power level button
Back to the up-down buttons while staring at the display again to set the power.
Finally, press 'Start'

How about the ones with a mechanical timer knob ? Add a knob for the power level and you have a much more sophisticated machine. Ergonomic, fast to set, and anyone can use it.

There's the old user interface joke.... You have a futuristic car which runs (operating system name redacted). A child walks out in front of you. Click on 'accelerate', then on the drop-down menu, click on decelerate. A wizard appears. Click on up-down buttons to select the strength of deceleration required.click on 'apply'

Good user controls which work directly, which operate in an obvious way aren't just for people with difficulties.

We all need them.

David

[Pilot Mariner]

Thanks everyone for the info, at least I now know what its all about as I am going through this painful process with my mother at the moment who has dementia and has broken her hip.
However the pods seem underused as over the past 7 weeks worth of visits I have not seen them in use.

Mark

PS The knobs on the TV do not do anything as its all operated via remote control.

[whyperion]

Is the top re-inforced for all the percieved thumping it needs to get the picture stopping scrolling, does the display collapse to a dot when turned off, is it Test Card + Music 0930-1200. Ah, nostalgia , I suffer from bouts of it.

[Hybrid tellies]

I have heard that there is a lot of research going on to relieve the suffering of those struck down by dementia. It has been found that putting people in the right surroundings playing old TV programmes films and even re runs of vintage sporting events has shown some surprising responses from dementia patients.

[G6Tanuki]

This is a thread which is close to my heart - having a parent who's currently in her tenth-decade of life and living with dementia.

It's not 'patronising' to offer such citizens a familiar, non-threatening environment. Indeed, it should be seen as both reassuring and supportive. When times are tough we all instinctively retreat into learned worlds that we understand and in which we can find security and contentment.

Example: a traditional rotary-dial telephone fits well with the sort-of appliance that's been used for half-a-century to call your children. When they call you, it rings with a reassuringly-relevant sound which you instinctively associate with the Bakelite-and-Brass telephone. So you pick up the hndset from the cradle and there's a family-friendly voice at the end.

[|My biggest problem these days is getting said aged parent to realise that these days phone-calls don't cost anything - so we can natter on about various distant-relatives and pre-WWII stuff and it's not costing anything - even if it's a three-way call with a cousin in Canada].

[Heatercathodeshort]

It is certainly not 'patronising' in any way. patients can often only relate to items and equipment they were familiar with many years ago and anything that can stimulate them and give them comfort must be a good thing.
Most of us on this Forum may develop dementia later in life and it is possible that some of us may have the early symptoms of this horrible disease at the present time. A lot of us are actually LIVING in the past to some extent [including me] so we are probably half down the lane already! I think we all need to be a bit more compassionate and understanding.