DEMENTIA-FRIENDLY wards make a “massive difference” to how patients with dementia respond to care, the Royal Bolton’s top nurse has said.

Bev Tabernacle, acting director of nursing at Bolton NHS Foundation Trust, is backing The Bolton News’ Donate £1 for Dementia campaign.

The appeal, which aims to raise £200,000 to make wards at the Royal Bolton Hospital dementia-friendly, has been launched by Bolton NHS Charitable Fund.

Donations will pay for special equipment allowing brighter or softer lighting at different times, and a 1960s-themed communal lounge for patients to sit and talk in.

Hospital staff plan to install dementia-friendly signs to help patients remember where their hospital bed is and how to get to the toilet.

Bathrooms will be fitted with different coloured toilet seats and handrails — as dementia sufferers can find it hard to distinguish between different white objects — and there will be memory prompting boxes and nostalgic pictures.

Ms Tabernacle said the changes would not just benefit patients who have dementia, but also those with acute confusion.

She said: “The hospital can be confusing, and for a dementia patient it can seem particularly alien from their home environment.

“This is about making wards — which are usually stark and clinical — more familiar with things like colours, lighting and furnishings.

“Providing things which distract patients from the fact they are at hospital and remind them of home can play a massive role.”

Ms Tabernacle has visited Warrington Hospital’s pioneering £1 million Forget Me Not ward — which opened in May last year — and was impressed by the innovative design features which provide relaxation and stimulation for patients.

She said it was fascinating to see the impact putting patients in a dementia-friendly environment had on their response to their clinical care.

Ms Tabernacle added: “On the Forget Me Not ward the average patient stay has been reduced by three days, just by having an environment that promotes wellbeing.

“There is no doubt that patients who feel comfortable in a familiar environment respond to care better and recover more quickly.

“For a patient with dementia the hospital’s unfamiliar surroundings can be overwhelming, and this can impact on behaviour – making them aggressive and unmanageable, when at home they are placid and calm.

“Reducing this distress and anxiety is what the campaign is all about.”

Families, schools, businesses and groups across Bolton are being urged to donate at least £1 to the appeal.

Fundraisers can get involved with the campaign on social media by sharing a ‘pound selfie’ of themselves holding a £1 coin using the hashtag #D14D

To donate click here or send a cheque to Charitable Funds Department, Dowling House, Royal Bolton Hospital, Minerva Road, Bolton, BL4 0JR.

Businesses, schools or groups considering a larger donation or wanting the giant £1 to visit an event can email andy.lee@boltonft.nhs.uk.

For more information search Bolton NHS Charitable Fund on Facebook or follow @boltonnhsft on Twitter.