Staff on song for dementia patients

With 800,000 people living with the condition in the UK, raising awareness has never been more important.

And staff marked Dementia Awareness Week – which runs until Sunday – by giving the public a chance to speak to healthcare teams about the condition.

Dementia lead nurse Anita Ruckledge said: “We are dedicated to treating the patient as a person first and the condition second.

“We try really hard to work with the families because they are the experts. They know how best to help their loved ones cope.”

Mrs Ruckledge and her team invited visitors and passers-by to join them in singing With A Little Help From My Friends, the song featured on the Alzheimer’s Society and Public Health England TV campaign to recruit one million new dementia friends across the country.

They also put up a memorial tree at the hospital, where visitors were urged to write down any suggestions about what they expected from dementia carers.

Dementia Awareness Week comes a week before Mid Yorkshire Hospital Trust opens its new dementia friendly environment at Pinderfields Hospital.

The facility in Wakefield has been designed around the needs of dementia patients, including being based on a 1960s theme. It is hoped work will be completed by the end of the month.

Visit our website to watch the staff singing the classic Beatles song.