13.01.12
Healthcare project benefits dementia patients
Bradford Royal Infirmary (BRI) has recently hosted a £450,000 healthcare project to improve the hospital environment for acute elderly care patients suffering from dementia.
Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has redeveloped Wards 23 and 29 at BRI in a six month refurbishment scheme in an effort to improve the hospital environment for patients and staff through design and artwork.
Memory boxes have been placed by patients’ beds, into which they put a personal object which they can recognise and remember, along with a descriptive caption. This helps patients to find their way back to their beds and acts as an aid to nostalgia by helping them recall their past.
Large frames with interchangeable images have also been put in the wards, including scenes of Bradford andYorkshirefamilies at the seaside, to foster happy memories. Wall-mountedYorkshireimage boards are also being used to enhance local recognition and awareness.
The project, the largest of its kind inEngland, is being led by head of nursing Dawn Parkes, who said: “This is a ground-breaking initiative for the trust and it is already making a huge difference by quickly and clearly illustrating how relatively small changes to the hospital environment can reduce anxiety, accidents and incidents of challenging behaviour.
“Immediate improvements we have already seen include reduced rates of falls, less agitation among patients and reduced complaints from relatives. In the past, our patients used to wander up and down the wards aimlessly. Now, they will sit more attentively on the special seats we have provided adjacent to the light boxes and image boards.
“They are much more orientated and there is increased interaction with hospital staff, who in turn are now better able to engage patients in meaningful conversations – for example, about the contents of their memory boxes and the pictures on display.
“It provides patients with something to talk about and there is also the added advantage of increased satisfaction among hospital staff, as they see the many beneficial effects the programme is having on their patients.”
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