All About Namaste Care

What is Namaste Care?

Namaste Care is a compassionate model of palliative care initially developed for people with advanced and end-stage dementia. It focuses on enhancing opportunities for meaningful connection, comfort, and joy, it maximises the sensory capacities and strengths that remain and it nurtures hope by staying open to pleasant surprises.

Namaste Care was developed by Joyce Simard because she recognised that people with advanced and end-stage dementia are at risk of becoming ‘silent and invisible’ in the business of everyday work of typical care settings. She wanted to support staff to work differently. So, she developed Namaste Care to share practical ways for staff to intentionally honour the spirit within people with advanced and end-stage dementia. She wanted people in that group to have the best chance to continue living meaningful and engaged lives, and when the time came - to die peacefully and with enough support.

Since 2011 Lorna Reid (The Prince & Princess of Wales Hospice) and Fiona Irvine (Ayrshire Hospice) have been developing and updating workshops to help staff learn and practice the essential skills of Namaste Care.

You can find out how to join the latest course below