CARE home staff have come up with a novel way to help dementia residents relax and sleep during the night.

Staff at Simonsfield Care Home on Boston Avenue in Runcorn are required to conduct regular checks on residents at night and during the day.

However many residents with dementia had trouble differentiating between the day and night teams because they wore the same blue uniforms.

Disorientation and pacing was a regular occurrence among residents during night time hours, leading to sleep deprivation and associated lack of energy, irritability and mood swings.

Due to infection control guidelines, staff cannot wear pyjamas.

Home manager Debbie Smith came up with the idea of cartoon patterned scrubs for night staff.

She said: “We thought we’d try out scrubs that mimic pyjamas for the night carers to help minimise sleep deprivation, pacing and disorientation for our residents living with dementia.

“The initiative met with a really good response from most of the residents and we’ve seen a drastic improvement in their sleep patterns so the switch has been made permanent.

“It is remarkable how a simple change in uniform can have such drastic impact on the lives of those living with dementia.”