AS part of the work that is ongoing to improve Dementia Care within the acute hospital setting and in keeping with making Altnagelvin Hospital dementia friendly, the day room of Ward 20 has been transformed.
Having attended the Dementia Friends Champions facilitated by the Alzheimer’s Society and the Dementia: Person Centred Care module facilitated by the CEC, 2 Band 5 staff nurses, Shauna Tierney and Leann Allen have put their enhanced knowledge & skills in caring for people who have dementia into action.
They successful managed to get some funding from the friends of Altnagelvin and in keeping with best practice in dementia design have created a Dementia Friendly are called the Memory Room.
Gillian McCorkell, Lead Nurse in Research & Development, said: “Ward areas can be bland with few distinguishing features, for example, different bed bays may look very much like one another.
“The use of accent colours, chosen for contrast, together with signs that use both pictures and text are proving very helpful in aiding patients to find their beds.
“Brightening up spaces by displaying for example, large photographs of local landmarks have also proved very popular and effective in engaging patients who may have difficulty in communicating with relatives and staff.
“Small seating areas are provided where patients can look at books or enjoy interactive artworks.
“Shauna and Leann have demonstrated that using design principles founded on an understanding of the impact that the physical environment can have on people with dementia, it is possible to create a more supportive care environment.”
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