Help QEHB Charity raise £150,000 to support dementia patients
The Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham Charity has launched an exciting new appeal that will benefit patients on the elderly care wards at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham.
The £150,000 appeal will allow QEHB Charity to purchase 100 ‘My Dementia Improvement Systems’ to be distributed throughout the hospital.
Darren Pratley, Elderly Care Activity Co-ordinator at the QE, explained: “This specialist software will help staff to learn more about patients’ interests, hobbies, likes and dislikes, allowing them to strike up engaging conversations.
“It can also be a positive tool when a patient with dementia has challenging behaviour, as it helps to provide a point of concentration. This could be through the use of various activities, like games or quizzes, or media content, like family photographs.
“This can help to diffuse certain situations and complement staff work by making the best use of resource and improving the patients’ overall experience.”
A Birmingham man suffering with dementia recently benefitted from the special systems.
The man, who wishes to remain anonymous, regularly became fixated on bizarre ideas. He found these episodes so distressing that he often spent long periods of time lying face down on the ground, unintentionally causing distress to other patients around him and difficulties for staff.
Using the Life Story software just a few times led to a dramatic improvement in his behaviour. By using the system to look through old photographs and create a collage, the patient was able to focus on his own journey and validate his life before the illness with those around him.
He was happy to identify members in the photographs and was ‘beaming with delight’ at the final result: a photo collage printed for him and members of his family. After the activity he was calm and peaceful, and remained so even when other patients entered the room in a state of distress.
Laura Power, Fundraising Officer at QEHB Charity, said: “This is a great example of how the Life Story software can make a real difference to patients with dementia.
“Dementia is a terrible illness that can be traumatic and distressing for both patients and their families.
“We hope as many people as possible recognise the chance to make a real difference, now and in the future, and show their support for elderly patients at their local hospital by donating to our appeal.”
To support patients with dementia please call Laura Power on 0121 371 4852.
