Great little photo that gives some insight in to the day to day runnings of a Ward in RDH.
This photo was taken in 1980 and shows several ladies clearing up /doing the dishes after lunch. All these old ladies were anywhere from 65-85 years old and suffered varying degrees of dementia.
This was a regular routine – it was very loosely rostered – all who were able to help with these type of domestic jobs – some might do some dishes, some might do some /all of their own laundry (smalls), some might do a bit of sweeping /dusting were encouraged to do so.
There were always allowances for anyone who wasn’t mentally well or physically unwell etc. It was just a way of encouraging sharing some responsibility, co-operating with others, keeping the brain matter active etc. The ward aids /nurses would supervise and keep the chatter going etc.
Nick Jarvis
