Bussing in a great idea for patients with dementia
BUS STOPS PUT UP INSIDE HILLINGDON HOSPITAL
PATIENTS visiting the A&E department at Hillingdon Hospital might be surprised to see some new bus stops in the hospital’s corridors.
These indoor bus stops aren’t offering passengers a ride around the hospital, but are in fact a clever furniture trick to help patients with dementia.
Often patients suffering from Alzheimer’s or similar diseases can get confused in busy A&E departments like Hillingdon, and can lead to them feeling like they just want to go home.
Implementing an idea originally from Germany, Hillingdon Hospital has installed bus stops, to give a dementia patient something to focus on and somewhere to go with a purpose.
It is derived from studies which show that agitated and wandering dementia sufferers have an overwhelming wish to get back to the home they remember, even though sometimes this is not their current home.
They will fixate on familiar spots like a bus stop, and if a bench is provided, patients will happily sit and wait for the bus to arrive.
This means that staff will be able to spot the patients that need some extra assistance during their visits to what can be a hectic and frantic environment.
Kim Pendergast, a senior sister in the A&E department first heard of the scheme on TV, during the NHS70 celebrations, as they were being installed in Leeds.
Kim worked on the idea with acting divisional head of nursing Audrey Malik who explained: “If a patient with dementia can sit at our bus stop and feel safe and calm, it gives us the time and space to address their other needs while making the whole experience less confusing and frightening for them.”
Staff at the department are being trained to spot wandering and confused dementia patients and encouraging them to use the bus stops.
The signs were donated to the hospital free of charge by FD Signs Ltd of Cowley Road, Uxbridge.
The signage firm is also looking to put up some authentic timetable graphics for the walls.
Meanwhile Kim and Audrey are still looking to find some authentic bus stop seating.
Hillingdon Hospital also now features a “dementia friendly room” in the A&E department, with more resources and additional information for the families of the patients.
If you think you might be able to help the hospital find some authentic bus stop seating, please email in to qasim.peracha@reachplc.com.