Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
Blanket appeal
Help for dementia patients
An Airdrie nurse is appealing to Advertiser readers to get involved in a project which assists local dementia sufferers.
Agnes Wells, 45, is an acute care of the elderly nurse at Monklands Hospital and helps dozens of patients every day.
As part of her role, dementia victims are supplied with sensory blankets which are lined with objects designed to attract their attention and impart a sense of calm.
Buttons, clips, pegs and ribbons are examples of items stitched into the fabric for patients to play with.
There are around 40 patients with dementia in six wards across three hospitals in the area – Monklands, Wester Moffat and Coat hill, and with ready- made blankets costing around £30 from suppliers, Agnes says it is vital that volunteers are found to help contribute home-made blankets to the wards.
The Petersburn resident said: “Dementia is becoming a lot more prevalent now and these blankets have been proven to help sufferers.
“Victims often lose their sense of security and become very agitated and sometimes even aggressive.
“These blankets provide a distraction from their worries because they can fidget and play with them.
“The issue for us is that they are single use; they can’t be shared around because of the risk of infection in a hospital.
“We have around 15 blankets just now but they are expensive to buy and we need more.
“This is why it’s important to try to spread the word to let people know what we’re doing.
“There may be someone out there who can knit and wants to get involved with a community project.”
Agnes and the other nurses care for patients whose ages range from 60 to over 100.
Whilst carrying out an extremely time-consuming and stressful job, nurses and consultants are having to create the blankets in their own time.
Agnes added: “The amount of blankets we require is hard to sustain between the staff and consultants.
“We need as many as we can to split between the wards and if anyone can help it is greatly appreciated.
“The elderly patients who use them are very appreciative as well; anything to make their experiences in hospital less stressful.
“The assistance of volunteers are really important if we are to keep this initiative going.”