Dementia-friendly signage and decoration in Shrewsbury and Telford hospital

The purpose

1 in 4 patients using services at Shrewsbury and Telford hospital are living with dementia, or some form of confusion.

 The hospital wanted to:

• provide personalised care
• reduces risks
• improve patient experiences
• ease hospital admissions
• reduce time spent in hospital. 

What happened

The Dementia Team involved people with dementia and carers in conversations at the hospital's dementia cafes over a 12 month period.

They combined the data they got from the conversations in the dementia cafes with data that they had from environmental audits.

This enabled them to understand:

• the experience of people with dementia
• the risks they faced, and
• what they would like to improve their experiences in the hospital settings.

The results

Within days of being introduced, the new uniforms, signage, clocks and ward decorations had made a difference. People with dementia, their carers and hospital staff all noticed improved experiences.

• Staff wearing T-shirts rather than traditional uniforms found that people with dementia and carers are more likely to approach them and talk with them.
• People with dementia, their carers and staff felt the service is much more person-centred.
• Larger bays make it easier for staff, patients and carers to work on the ward.
• Staff have more time to spend with patients.
• Toilets in each bay support dignity and reduce both the risk and time for supporting people with personal hygiene.

At the time of reporting, it is too early to get quantitative data about reduced numbers of falls, for example, but staff are confident that over time, such improvements to the patient experience will also become apparent in the data.

What changed for people with dementia

The team used feedback and data about patient experience to make decisions on specific improvements to the ward decoration, signage, staff uniforms and other aspects. This included:

• finger foods and snack boxes 
• therapy dolls
• droplet cups for nutrition hydration
• dementia friendly cafes 
• perspex stands for the This is me passports
• dementia awareness on our annual staff training and corporate induction
• piloting online dementia care training modules and staff undertaking NVQ dementia modules
• implemented the abbey pain across all wards with the pain team and are working on having this on our vital pack (observational recording system).

The benefits of the changes have prompted plans for future improvements:

• The hospital are planning to have all toilet seats and signage replaced across both hospital sites.
• The dementia team are considering introducing staff wearing pyjamas at night, as they understand that elsewhere this has helped people with dementia to have a sense of day and night time when staying in hospital.

Lessons learned

• Involve people living with dementia and carers to understand why and how services can be improved.
• See the person as well as thinking about dementia.
• Remember it’s a marathon not a sprint making changes.

​

​

Key contact to find out more

Clinical Specialist for dementia, Karen Breese, works with the Corporate Nursing team to improve the Patient and Carer experience within the hospital. Karen also works with the Dementia Support Workers.

Karen Breese, Dementia Clinical Specialist, Shrewsbury and Telford NHS Trust. Email: Karen.Breese@nhs.net