PATIENTS with dementia stay in hospital three times longer than the average patient, a charity claims.

Alzheimer’s Society statistics suggest patients with dementia – a quarter of all hospital patients – experience more discharge delays and are at greater risk of dehydration and falls.

The charity puts dementia patients’ longer hospital stays down to slower recovery times, treatment complications due to complex needs and delays in organising social care.

Sue Clarke, the Alzheimer’s Society’s operations manager for Greater Manchester, has today leant her support to The Bolton News’ Donate £1 for Dementia campaign.

Our appeal, launched in partnership with Bolton NHS Charitable Fund, aims to raise £200,000 to make wards at the Royal Bolton Hospital more dementia-friendly.

Ms Clarke said: “This campaign is fantastic.

“Changes to make hospitals more dementia-friendly can be very simple and easy to implement – things like colour and texture can play a large role.

“It is about getting people to think outside the box and be creative and innovative, because little things which do not cost a lot or rely on a great deal of resources can create culture shifts which truly can change the lives of people with dementia.”

Ms Clarke said these innovations can include colour schemes for different areas of the ward and easy-to-use crockery with two handles rather than one.

She cited one care home which has staff wear pyjamas at night to trigger a response from residents so they would realise it was a time when they should be in bed.

Ms Clarke added: “We know memory boxes relieve anxiety for patients.

“Long term memories reassure people and take them back to a time when they were calm, so can really help someone in distress.

“Dementia-friendly hospital environments enable people to get out of hospital quicker and have such a knock-on effect on their healing and how they respond to treatment.

“The sooner people are out of hospital, the easier it is to get them back home and able to cope on their own, keeping them living at home for as long as possible.”

Donations to our Donate £1 for Dementia campaign 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.

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: go to www.boltonft.nhs.uk/get-involved/charitable-giving/ and click on the Virgin Money Giving logo 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.