Ward is transforming dementia patients' lives
With a special paint scheme, lighting and colour co-ordinated tables and chairs to encourage patients to eat, this unique multi-million pound hospital ward is helping to transform the lives of dementia patients in the Black Country.
With a special paint scheme, lighting and colour co-ordinated tables and chairs to encourage patients to eat, this unique multi-million pound hospital ward is helping to transform the lives of dementia patients in the Black Country.
The £2 million ward, created at New Cross Hospital in Wolverhampton, has been hailed a huge success. It uses special design techniques with every member of staff, including the housekeeper and receptionist, receiving specialist training on how to deal with patients suffering with dementia.
And it could now be rolled out to other hospitals across the region.
The 20-bed ward uses the paint scheme to make sure confused patients don't open doors they shouldn't, and slighting to create different atmospheres. Signs have red backgrounds with white writing to make them clearer for patients to read.
Every single design detail inside the ward has been considered, including the colours of chairs and table cloths chosen to encourage appetite and make it easier for patients to know when and where to eat.
Each patient can also personalise their bed area so they recognise it and each bay has beds on only one side to reduce confusion.
Since opening in November the ward, which has a higher number of nursing staff as well as volunteers, has brought real benefits for patients. Not one of the patients has lost weight since the ward opened and there has been a reduction in falls and pressure sores.
Matron Karen Bowley, who has been in the NHS for almost 30 years, said: "This is the best care I have ever seen and it should be rolled out everywhere."
New Cross chief executive David Loughton said: "Good basic medical and nursing care must remain at the centre of this expanding area as our population ages."
The 18-month pilot project was launched in partnership with the Strategic Health Authority. If it continues to prove a success, bosses could roll it out to other hospitals in the region.
The city council is planning to create a £30 million dementia care centre next to Waitrose in the city.
