Hospital project shortlisted for award

WARRINGTON and Halton Hospitals have been shortlisted in the national dementia friendly awards for their Forget Me Not project.

The project has seen the hospitals change their culture to create the best possible environment for people with dementia who need hospital care.

The environment of a general ward is simply not suitable for many of these patients and a decision was made to change the culture in the hospital to be one of the most dementia friendly in the NHS.

In May 2014, the 21-bed Forget Me Not unit opened to provide relaxation and stimulations for patients who need expert hospital inpatient care but who also have dementia.

The ward has lots of social areas, including a dementia friendly garden, to create a more homely environment for patients to get together to eat and chat with staff.

Local artists have created a bus stop mural on the ward and there is a quiet room where patients can go and slide the door along and sit watching the television, which broadcasts local film and images from 1960s.

Mel Pickup, chief executive at Warrington and Halton Hospitals, said: “We are thrilled to be a finalist in these awards. They mark the work that our staff have led to make sure that we are providing the very best in care to our patients who have dementia.

“The Forget Me Not Unit is making a real difference. Patient and family satisfaction amongst the highest in the hospitals, there’s evidence that the environment and principles of care adopted by the team mean that patients are calmer and less agitated and length of stay of patients has been reduced with less readmissions.

“The ward would be nothing without the team who provide the service, and also the wider team across the hospitals on our other wards and departments who have worked to make sure that the entire trust is as dementia friendly as possible.

“We want to be the most dementia friendly acute hospitals in the NHS and being a finalist in these awards shows how far we have come already.”

The Dementia Friendly Awards, run by the Alzheimer’s Society, take place in September.