Successful funding bid to improve dementia care

2012-08-14 12:07:00

Care of people with dementia across London will be improved and hospital stays reduced thanks to a new training programme for healthcare staff.

North East London NHS Foundation Trust (NELFT) and University College London Partners submitted a successful bid for over £290,000 to the Simulation and Technology-enhanced Learning Initiative (STeLI) fund to run the dementia training programme.

Dementia training programme

The NHS London Acute Trust Dementia Training Project has already provided a pan-London role to support acute hospital trusts develop a more sustainable model of dementia training but this will now run entirely by NELFT and will be rolled out to include healthcare staff working in mental health and community health services.

The dementia training programme is a practical course for healthcare professionals looking at all aspects of dementia care, including how to communicate with a person with dementia, coping strategies for dementia sufferers and their carers, managing emotional pain and responding to challenging and aggressive behaviour.

New project base at Goodmayes Hospital

The new project will have its administrative base at Goodmayes Hospital, in Ilford (run by NELFT). It will be led by Professor Martin Orrell, NELFT’s Research and Development Director. Professor Orrell, and Christine Lourenco, NELFT’s Medical Education Manager, who oversaw the funding bid.

Professor Orrell said:

“This builds on the excellent work of NHS London to train more staff in acute hospitals and will lead to better care for people with dementia and better support for their families."

Christine Lourenco added:

“It is wonderful for NELFT to be given the opportunity to run this training programme, which will improve the lives of so many people, carers and dementia sufferers alike.”

More information

Simulation & Technology-enhanced Learning Initiative (London Deanery website)

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