Staff Nurse, Liz Barker with a white board – anyone for noughts and crosses?
Patients and staff on Ailesbury Ward at Savernake Hospital have recently benefitted from three separate grants totalling more than £1,150 from the Friends of Savernake Hospital and the Community, covering dementia aids, a communal television and DVD player and electric fans.
The Friends have provided a grant of £380 allowing for the purchase of a variety of items to assist and stimulate patients with dementia.
“At any one time, up to a quarter or even a third of the patients on Ailesbury Ward – which currently has 26 beds open – may exhibit some degree of dementia,” explained Staff Nurse, Liz Barker, “and dementia is sometimes exacerbated by an underlying illness or infection”.
Dementia-friendly date and time clock
Liz, who recently attended the first of three dementia master class courses, was given the responsibility of carefully selecting the most suitable dementia aids for the purposes of the grant application to the Friends.
As well as basing her selection on her training, Liz has also used Jupiter Ward at Great Western Hospital, Swindon (which specialises in treating elderly patients with a variety of conditions, including dementia) as her benchmark. Items purchased include two “dementia-friendly” date and time clocks.
As Liz explained, many patients suffering dementia require reassurance as to the date and time me. Such clocks can allay the anxiety of losing track of the days and time. Click here to read more.
