Improvements made to the Emergency Department for dementia patients and their carers
During an engagement session at the Essence Service male carer’s group, the gentlemen told us about some of the negative experiences they had when accompanying their wives, who are living with dementia, to the Emergency Department (ED) at Sunderland Royal Hospital.
Through our connections within the South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust, of which the Sunderland Royal Hospital is part, we were able to highlight these issues to Chris Cairns, Nurse Consultant Older Persons. Chris was sorry to hear about these experiences and accepted an invitation to accompany one of our Engagement Officers, Wendy, to the men’s group to hear their experiences firsthand, which included; long waits in the department, with their wives often being bored and distressed in the busy waiting areas and lack of appropriate changing facilities and assistance with this.
Wendy and Chris listened and acted upon what the gentlemen said, with Chris making the following improvements in the department:
- A dedicated, single occupancy room is now available, offering a quiet space for dementia patients to wait in the department. It has comfortable seating, is beautifully and calmly decorated, and has a cupboard containing games and activities to keep people occupied and distracted while they wait. The room is close to the main ED clinical areas and has a buzzer fitted to alert staff should assistance be required.
- Dedicated male and female toilet facilities, which are locked, and carers will be given a key to access them, while they are waiting in the designated room with their loved ones.
- Chris is going to facilitate Dementia training over the coming months to all ED staff, to raise awareness of the condition and how best to support Dementia patients and their carers whilst in the department.
- A trolley containing supplies of various incontinence products is to be situated at the ED triage desk for people to access when and if required.
- A selection of posters will be displayed in the department to tell people to highlight to staff if they would like to access the room or any of the other additions to the department.
The gentlemen are delighted with the outcome of this work and have since nominated Chris for one of our
Healthwatch Star Awards, which was presented to him on 18th September 2024.