Yeovil Hospital has been publicly recognised for its work to welcome carers of patients with dementia.
Staff at the hospital received a certificate from national charity John’s Campaign, which campaigns for the rights of carers of patients with dementia to open and unlimited access while in hospital. The certificate puts Yeovil among the first 100 trusts within the UK to offer an unconditional welcome to carers of patients with the condition.
The certificate comes only a month before a swathe of other projects designed to support older patients, including those with dementia, get underway. October sees the official opening of the Trust’s dementia-friendly garden, specially created to provide a safe, stimulating and enjoyable outdoor space to be enjoyed by all patients, but particularly those with dementia.
This month also sees the launch of The Wellcome Trust’s prestigious Dementia Drawings exhibition, which links creativity and dementia in a collection of stitched art drawn from the artist’s experience of aging and dementia. The exhibition will be around the hospital Outpatients department over the next few weeks.
The Trust’s joint initiative with Dorset County Hospital to provide live music to patients on the wards also starts this month, with a variety of local musicians signed up over the next nine months.
Finally, Sundays are set to be a little brighter for older patients on the wards from next month, as part of the Trust’s Special Sundays project. One Sunday each month, older patients in the hospital will have the chance to participate in a variety of special activities and events to add interest and variety to their day.
Helen Ryan, Director of Nursing, said of the certificate: “We are very proud to have received this from John’s Campaign, who have done amazing work to highlight the issue of carer access. We are looking forward to launching our new projects and hope they will offer a little extra support to those living with dementia, and their carers.”
Julia Jones, co-founder of John’s Campaign, added: “We are so grateful to trusts like Yeovil for their ongoing work to support carers and patients with dementia. We believe they are at the forefront of a real change in the way vulnerable people are supported in hospital and are profoundly grateful for their open-minded and humane approach.”
Categorised in: Trust news and events
This post was written by Helen Stobbs
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