Staff asked to remember the ‘me’ in dementia

Tommy Whitelaw (centre) with staff at Blackpool Victoria Hospital

Tommy Whitelaw (centre) with staff at Blackpool Victoria Hospital

A kind word, a hand held, an understanding gesture – sometimes that’s all a patient living with dementia needs to make their life a little easier.

And now Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is asking all its 6,000 staff to put that understanding into action by signing up to become a Dementia Friend and remember the me in dementia.

The Trust wants to do its best to ensure patients and their carers are given the understanding and support they need by everyone they come into contact with, either in the hospital or in a community setting.

“A hospital can be bewildering for any patient, even more so for a patient with dementia,” explained Deputy Director of Nursing and Quality, Simone Anderton. “Our role as a Trust is to treat all patients with respect and humanity.

“Understanding dementia, and what it is like to live with the condition as a patient or a care giver, is very important and we want to show our staff what life with dementia is like so they will understand when dealing with patients.”

The campaign is being backed by the Alzheimer’s Society, Age Concern and Care and Repair. As part of the campaign a memory walk and dementia awareness day took place. Dementia awareness campaigner Tommy Whitelaw has also made several visits to the hospital to talk to staff about his experiences of caring for his mum Joan who had dementia before she passed away.

Posted in Compassion, Values.