Cornish Care Provider Introduces Specialist Maybo Approach Across Its Six Care Homes

Swallowcourt Ltd is breaking new ground in care practice by reducing conflict and lowering risk in the care setting with the introduction of specialist training techniques, called the Maybo approach.

A different approach to care practice
Understanding what makes a person tick and how they respond individually to any given situation is key when caring for people living with dementia, learning disabilities or mental illness.

Swallowcourt Ltd now use a different approach across their six care homes as part of their care and support for their residents and it’s called the Maybo approach.

So, what is Maybo?

It’s a specialised system of outcome focused training programmes which enable staff to work calmly and effectively with their residents.

Swallowcourt introduced the training to their staff in Spring of this year and have already trained many of them in this new method; it’s already proving popular with staff and residents alike.

Maybo teaches people how to work positively with residents who may find some care tasks unnecessary or even intrusive, even when they are a necessary part of good care and support for that individual.

Sometimes seeing a member of staff approaching them triggers feelings of panic or anxiety, resulting in challenging behaviour, conflict, and sometimes physical aggression.

However, by using the Maybo approach, staff break the cycle of negative communication and achieve better outcomes.

Already it is proving to be a gentle and effective way of reducing risk and conflict in the care setting.

Swallowcourt’s Training Manager, Sarah Devine said: “When it comes to training, we are always researching new systems that work well with our residents, and we’re not afraid to try new things.

“Since implementing these new techniques, we’ve had really encouraging feedback from both our residents and our teams, and it’s benefitting everyone.

“Training for us is an ongoing process of learning and growing as an organisation and as a team, not simply a mandatory tick-box exercise.”

Using the Maybo approach
Human behaviour can be complex and sometimes unpredictable, especially with people living with dementia, mental illness, or severe learning disabilities.

Therefore, this specialised training method helps Swallowcourt’s staff care for their residents in the kindest, most respectful way possible, therefore reducing conflict and misunderstanding.

Sarah continues: “It’s all about looking at a new way of approaching certain situations and communicating positively with our residents to promote mutual trust and calmness, helping them feel confident with our staff and the task they are doing.

“Just as important, the Maybo approach teaches our staff to have greater awareness of their resident’s frame of mind, and their own behaviours which may inadvertently trigger anxiety or anger in another.

“It’s vital too, that our staff feel confident and happy in all they do. Through the special training and support we give them they are empowered to be the best they can be.

“Quite simply, the Maybo approach is helping our dedicated staff to do a brilliant job even better.”

Respecting the individual
Swallowcourt see each of their residents as individuals and as someone who wants to continue living life as before.

To facilitate this, when a new resident joins them, they go out of their way to learn about their resident’s previous daily routines. The staff then follow those routines as closely as possible, rather than make the resident fit into the home’s routines.

Using the Maybo approach and respecting their individuality helps residents feel confident and calm in their new home, while maintaining previous daily patterns reduces the feelings of initial loss or confusion, or even removes them.

This personalised way of working was introduced by Sarah after she and her team discovered that a small change in a daily activity made a vast difference to one resident’s daily life.

Sarah says: “We struggled with tempting him to eat or even enjoy his lunch until we discovered that his previous life habit was having a lunch box packed for him each day.

“For years he had been going off to work with a packed lunch – a regular routine which was part of his life.

“So, we introduced this simple change, and instead of expecting him to sit in the dining room and be served lunch, he went in with his lunch box.
“He now enjoys lunchtimes and happily eats his food with the other residents. This simple detail made a world of difference to this gentleman and took him back to a place where he felt at ease and comfortable.”

“Taking care of people” is Swallowcourt’s brand message and one they live by.

With dedicated, well-trained teams working hard each day across their six care homes, their residents are given the best opportunity to live their best life every day, however that may be.