Teun Toebes was 17, a student nurse, when he first entered a care home. He entered, he remembers, “the closed ward”, where residents were locked inside. It illustrated perfectly, he thought, “how we have lost the plot” when it comes to treating dementia.
Teun – together with filmmaker Jonathan de Jong – have just released a documentary, Forever Human, on his journey in care since: living for years in homes across the Netherlands, and then travelling beyond to find the best examples of dementia care across the world.
Together, they talk to Helen Pidd about the radical new approach they are proposing for dementia – from pets, to cooking to solo walks – focused on maximising freedom for those in care.
Photograph: Percy & Warren PR
