More help on Wirral for dementia patients

By Caroline Sutton

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Two new schemes have been set up at Arrowe Park Hospital for patients with dementia after complaints from a family of a sufferer.

With a quarter of a million people in the UK now suffering from dementia, one of our hospitals is using a new system to help care for those with the illness.

Arrowe Park hospital on the Wirral has launched the 'Forget Me Not' scheme which will help staff easily recongise patients with dementia and enable them to be cared for better. 

The introduction of the scheme comes after Trish Barns saw things could be improved when her father was treated at the hospital with the illness: "The hospital has picked up everything we said would have made a difference to our Dad"

"We want them to remember that there are people who may not be able to remember their name, but they have got a name and they have likes and dislikes"

"If a member of staff now sees the "Forget Me Not" sign, they will be able to talk to the patient appropriately and make sure they are comfortable"

Day rooms will be decorated to look like rooms did back in the fifties, to try and make people who may still have long term memories feel at ease.

The hospital have also introduced the "This Is Me" passport scheme which works with patient's families to find out their needs on admission so they can be given the best possible care whilst at the hospital.

Tina Long, Director of Nursing and Midwifery at Wirral Univeristy Teaching Hospitals told Heart: "We've been focusing on how we maintain patients privacy, how we treat them as individuals with respect and how we can work with families to make sure they get high quality care"