Creating communication-accessible environments is central to inclusive dementia care. The speech and language therapy (SLT) team in RVH received leadership funding from Alzheimer Scotland’s ‘Connecting People, Connecting Support’ AHP policy document. We chose to develop a project for inclusive communication environments by offering support to the new Meeting Centre based in Royal Victoria Hospital (RVH), Dundee.
Meeting Centres are social groups run in communities for people living with dementia. The RVH Meeting Centre affectionately named ‘The Clubbie’, opened in August 2025 to inpatients. It is the first time a Meeting Centre has been set up within an NHS inpatient unit for older adults.
The SLT project goal is to embed total communication strategies within the Meeting Centre at grassroots level and to gather feedback and opinions on the approach. We have been working alongside the team to offer training, modelling and developing resources within the Meeting Centre. Our long term view is to share these resources across NHS Tayside. One of our ‘Hints and Tips’ resources is already on Alzheimer Scotland website with a further communication manual to be uploaded soon.
The Meeting Centre creates a space where meaningful activities are offered such as current affairs, news, conversations / social interaction, games, art and music and a range of physical seated activities.
My colleague Rosie has training in therapeutic drumming circles and I approached her as a way to offer an innovative new activity within the Centre. Our goals were to promote attention, listening & following instructions, support turn-taking and create positive wellbeing through a sense of community, interaction and grounding. Drumming is a fun, hands-on activity that encompasses visual and auditory processes to focus on the present moment by providing a shared pulse. There are many researched cognitive/social/ wellbeing/motor benefits of participating in a drumming circle.
The group ran with a cohort of inpatients and invited community patients as well as inpatients and carers from Kingsway Care Centre. Some family members stayed and became involved either with their own drum or supporting their family member. Drums and musical chimes were played in different activity segments of free-play, watching and listening to the leader and following each other.
Things we noticed….
- There was a general pulse to each activity set by the leader and the bass drum. The noise was hypnotic and grounding and we noted positive facial expressions and exclamations in the group about the power of the rhythm and beat.
- Each member had an opportunity to play a range of drums, chimes or other percussion. The group followed instructions to start and stop together and adapted to slowing or quickened pace set by the leader in the centre of the circle. There was spontaneous applause from the group each time they succeeded in following the countdown to stop playing together!
- One group member had lived for many years in Africa and the drum rhythm reminded her of observing African drumming tribes – she spent some time in animated conversation with her neighbour about her memories.
- Another gentleman who was new and reluctant to attend the group, spontaneously began dancing with the group leader in centre of circle as the group progressed.
A group member who quietly attended the Meeting centre each week with minimal speech or group engagement, suddenly started a long and detailed story to the group about his previous experience as a drum leader in the Boys Brigade. There was silence in the room for a number of minutes as the group listened to him address them about his memories and love of drumming. I spoke with this gentleman a week later where he initiated a further conversation about his memories of our drumming circle.
We noted that people were following instructions, engaging with each other and the group leader, demonstrating new learning, initiating memories, stories and conversations and were having fun evidenced by their laughter, facial expression and applause.
We trusted the power of drumming but had no idea the Drumming Circle would feel this powerful and positive! The space that was created promoted a sense of self-expression and presence that group members shared later in conversations and connections. Engagement and participation were positive outcomes for our group wellbeing outcomes and each member offered positive feedback in either verbal or non-verbal way after the group.
Contributor: Rosie Keast and Jenny Keir, Speech & language therapy, Royal Victoria Hospital, Dundee
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