Admiral Nurse service
Our dementia services lead at the Trust is the Admiral Nurse Ruth Bradford.
Our Admiral Nurse provides comprehensive dementia training for all staff to ensure that the best practices are shared throughout the Trust.
Forget-Me-Not Dementia Volunteers
Forget-Me-Not Dementia Volunteers are a dedicated group of individuals who offer individual, companionship support for people living with dementia. The service aims to provide comfort and bespoke interactions to dementia patients that come to our hospital, as well as providing support and guidance for their loved ones. The volunteers regularly liaise with the ward staff throughout the hospital to ensure the care needs of each individual are being met.
This service runs Monday to Friday, 8.30am – 4.30pm and you can contact our Forget-Me-Not Dementia Service Manager Molly Baldini on 07407876933 for any support or guidance.
Activities:
We have a rota of activities and these include Harp therapy on Monday’s and Imagination dance on Thursday’s
Cupboards
There are several activity cupboards located around Lister, which can be accessed by all staff and contain a wide range of games and activities to support patients living with dementia.
The items in the cupboards include reminiscence cards, felt tips pens, vintage snakes and ladders, puzzles, conversation starter balls and twiddle blankets. These activities are designed to increase mental stimulation for people with dementia, which aids recovery and improves their overall experience during their hospital stay.
Home comforts
An unfamiliar environment can be particularly difficult for a person with dementia, increasing their anxiety and difficulty in orientation of place and time. We encourage family members to bring in familiar, comforting items such as the persons own clothes, a favourite blanket or photos of loved ones.
It can also help for the person with dementia to have access to a phone so that they can get in touch with their loved ones if they feel overwhelmed (remember to also bring a phone charger if providing your loved one with a phone)
Identification of people with dementia
We ask people who are living with dementia to wear a yellow wrist band so hospital staff can easily recognise and support them.
We also use a forget-me-nots flower symbol to identify people with dementia, which are placed on the board above their bed.
Help support the service
You can also donate to our Forget-Me-Not Dementia Volunteer service via our charity website.
Any donations, however big or small, would be very much appreciated.
East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust Dementia Strategy 2025-28
