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Hi Maria

Last week we took 10 residents to a local shopping centre for a bit of a shop and coffee and donut for afternoon tea. I was lucky that I had 2 volunteers come with me as no way could I have managed this on my own. We were very careful in who we did take out. Most of the residents do have some sort of dementia but the biggest risk we thought would be wandering. We didn't have any trouble. We made sure to go to a fairly small shopping centre and once there showed all residents where our meeting point was. Some residents went off by themselves to shop but the majority stayed with me and the volunteers. So keep it small and only for a couple of hours. Next time we may have afternoon at one of the parks or even garden centres now have cafes.

hi Louise,

thanks for the info not for an outing for 5 low care residents with mild dementia do you think a trip to the zoo would be fun????

2ndly do you think 2 volunteers and 1 carer is enough, i myself am also a nursing assistant besides a therapist.......

i was thinking for lunch have nicely packed sandwiches which ahead of time i will ask what they like to have made.. and cold drinks and perhaps getting money for ice cream... do you see any potential hazards of a trip like this??? I myself have never really planned utings it is usually done by our team leader but she has been sick so any advise would be great.

Hi Maria

The zoo would be wonderful to visit but you would need to consider whether your residents could walk around for hours looking at everything. I know mine would not be able to manage this. If you are unsure, perhaps you could try going somewhere else and evaluate how your residents manage and if they are ok and not too tired then you could perhaps go to the zoo. I think a few shorter trips with less walking might be more suitable but that depends on the mobility of the residents. And 2 volunteers would be ideal.