Help dementia patients

The NHS in Sussex is looking for people who enjoy sewing and knitting to create sensory objects to help provide relaxation for people living with dementia.

The Dementia Team at Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust (SCFT) is inviting crafters to make ‘lap quilts’ and ‘twiddle muffs’ which provide sensory stimulation for patients living with dementia.

They will be used in services across the trust, including Intermediate Care Units (ICUs), which provide support to help prevent people going into hospital and short-term rehabilitation to those leaving hospital, before they return home.

The items are usually sewn or knitted and have sensory objects, such as beads, buttons, textured ribbons and fabrics attached, which patients can play with to keep their hands occupied and can offer comfort in an unfamiliar environment.

Fran Hamilton, deputy dementia lead at Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust, says: “People living with dementia use strategies to cope with their environment and when they come into a new setting, either as an inpatient in one of our ICUs or as an outpatient, these strategies may be more difficult to use.

“Fidgeting with tactile items such as lap quilts or twiddle muffs can help people living with dementia to focus their thoughts and feel calmer in unfamiliar settings. Each lap quilt or twiddle muff will be given as a gift to a patient who can take it home when leaving our ICUs.”

Any sensory items attached to the twiddle muff or lap quilt must be securely attached and there can be no sharp edges. Contrasting colours and soft yarns are always popular.

Quilts must be machine washable at 40 degrees and ideally sized around 60cm by 40cm. Fleece can be used as wadding if backing fabric isn’t being used. For hygiene reasons, each creation will be given to a specific patient and not shared with others.

Completed items should be sent to: The Dementia Team, Room GU52, The Richard Hotham Unit, Bognor Regis War Memorial Hospital, Shripney Road, Bognor Regis, PO22 9PP. Please include contact details so that the team can say thank you. If you have any questions, please contact the Dementia Team at: sc-tr.dementia@nhs.net.

SUSSEX COMMUNITY NHS FOUNDATION TRUST Elm Grove,

Brighton