Emma shares details of this funding boost at the Earl Mountbatten Hospice. Ed
As Dementia Awareness Week gets underway (15 – 21 May), Earl Mountbatten Hospice is delighted to announce it has received funding to enhance the knowledge and skills of staff, volunteers and the Island community in supporting people with the condition.
Around 120 hospice staff and volunteers directly involved with patients will receive specialist training in dementia and end of life care, thanks to funding from Health Education Wessex.
Dementia Awareness Reaching Communities
This summer, they will undertake Dementia Awareness Reaching Communities (DARC) training, which aims to help reduce misunderstandings and fear about dementia so those with the condition can be actively supported to participate in life in the community as fully as possible with their families, with increasingly less stigma.
Meanwhile, the recruitment process for one of the first Admiral Nurses of their kind is now also underway, with a strong field of applicants for interview. This new initiative with Dementia UK has been made possible thanks to the generosity of the Island community and fundraising efforts of Lady Sally Grylls, a champion for dementia care on the Isle of Wight.
The role of Admiral Nurses
Admiral Nurses are trained specifically to support patients and families affected by dementia; additionally, the hospice Admiral Nurse will have specialist skills in end of life care and will work alongside our existing community team who, on any one day, support around 600 people and their families within their own homes.
Training and education of staff and volunteers in dementia will be a key part of their role, as will working in partnership with three Admiral Nurses at the Isle of Wight NHS Trust.
Rank Foundation funding
Additionally, Earl Mountbatten Hospice has received grant funding from The Rank Foundation, as part of a grant programme managed by Hospice UK. Rank Foundation is an organisation which aims to improve the lives of people and their communities across the UK.
It is envisaged that this funding will go towards making the hospice environment less confusing for dementia patients. For example, making rooms more personal and familiar to the individual patient, which can help them feel more settled, and using dementia-friendly colour schemes, which can make it easier for them to find their way around a building.
In January 2014, 1768 people on the Island were diagnosed to be living with dementia (*source: Living Well with Dementia on the Isle of Wight 2014 – 2019).
People with dementia have the right to dignity
Chief Executive of Earl Mountbatten Hospice, Nigel Hartley, said:
“Dementia is becoming an increasingly significant factor in how we care for patients coming to the end of their lives, and importantly, how we support their families.
“A person with dementia should be supported to die wherever they choose, so it’s vitally important we equip our staff and volunteers with the right skills and experience to know how best to support them and their families.
“People with dementia also have the right to dignity and a positive experience when staying in our hospice, so we are pleased that the funding we have received will go some way to help us continue to improve our hospice environment.”
