Saturday 17 October 2015

Nurses launch booklet to aid hospital dementia care

Nurses launch booklet to aid hospital dementia care
Good Hope Hospital in Birmingham has launched a new booklet designed to improve care for patients with dementia during their hospital stay.
The user-friendly booklet – About me – can be filled in by the health professional that cares for them.
“People with dementia can become agitated when they are in an unfamiliar environment”
Rachel Martin
It is designed to provide a snapshot of the patient, including their likes and dislikes, daily care needs, food and drink preferences and how they like to be communicated with. 
A “forget-me-not” flower magnet – the national symbol for dementia – is also placed on the patients name board to show staff that they have memory problems and can adjust their care needs accordingly.
The initiative was developed by a range of staff at Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust, including specialist nurses. 
Following the successful pilot at Good Hope Hospital, it will now be rolled out across the trust’s other hospital sites. 
Nurse and dementia practitioner Rachel Martin noted that patients with dementia could become agitated in an unfamiliar environment.
“’About me’ is helping our staff to communicate appropriately with these patients, helping to reduce any feelings of agitation or distress,” she said.
She added that it also provided reassurance to family members that their relative was being cared for in the “best way possible”.


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