THE Western Trust is supporting Dementia Awareness Week (15- 21 May 2016) by highlighting the success to date of the ongoing project to make Altnagelvin Hospital Dementia Friendly.
The project is part of the regional Dementia Friendly Communities Initiative being led by Alzheimer’s Society and Altnagelvin Hospital is the first hospital in Northern Ireland to sign up to the initiative.
The number of people in Northern Ireland with dementia is steadily increasing.
In recent years it has been estimated that 19,765 people are living with dementia in Northern Ireland, and with this figure set to increase to 60,000 by the year 2051, it is a priority that dementia care is optimised in all settings.
To date, the Trust has organised a series of awareness raising initiatives throughout Altnagelvin Hospital, staff training and dementia design audits.
A training programme for staff was rolled out:
• 18 dementia awareness workshops with 153 staff being trained. Staff included support staff, Nurses, Allied Health Professionals, volunteers, outpatient and ward admin staff. A number of volunteers were recruited and trained to work with dementia patients admitted to the hospital.
• Two dementia champion courses with 21 champions now trained across Altnagelvin Hospital.
• Three Nurses trained on best practice in dementia care who are now cascading the training to 24 nursing staff in their service areas.
• 20 Estates Services staff trained on dementia friendly design.
Furthermore, a dementia design audit was carried out in the outpatients department, of Altnagelvin and recommendations taken forward.
New builds and refurbishments within the hospital eg the new Radiotherapy Unit and the new North Wing are being designed in keeping with best practice in dementia design.
Geraldine Brown Assistant Director of Secondary Care Western Trust said: “It is crucial that we provide the appropriate care for these vulnerable dementia patients and their carers whilst in hospital.
“Through this project, our hospital staff are being trained in how to communicate with a person with dementia and how to respond to behavioural and psychological symptoms.
“The training also provides them with an enriched knowledge of the impact cognitive impairment has on a patient’s ability to be involved in their care, such as following instructions and managing nutrition.
“Overall the project is leading to better identification of people with dementia in hospital, increased training for all staff, more involvement of carers and creation of appropriate physical hospital environments to reduce confusion and distress of people with dementia to ultimately help improve dementia patients quality of life.”
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