Patients arriving at Johnson Community Hospital in Spalding may now be offered a blue wristband designed to help staff quickly recognise when someone needs additional support because of dementia, memory loss or confusion.
The wristbands feature a forget-me-not flower and are offered during the initial triage process. They are intended as an additional visual prompt for hospital teams, helping them identify patients who may need extra assistance with communication or finding their way around the department.
How the scheme works in Spalding
The initiative applies at the urgent treatment centre at Johnson Community Hospital, Spalding. A wristband can be offered when a person arrives with a formal dementia diagnosis, or when staff have concerns that the patient may be confused.
United Lincolnshire Hospitals said the visual reminder is designed to ensure that a patient’s additional needs are recognised by staff members throughout their visit, rather than only during the first conversation or assessment.
“The wristband acts as a visual reminder about the additional needs a person may have, no matter who they are talking to within our teams, to give them a better experience during their visit.”
Zoe Chapman, safeguarding and vulnerabilities nurse specialist for dementia for the Lincolnshire Community and Hospitals NHS Group, said the idea came from Becky, a patient flow coordinator at Pilgrim Hospital in Boston. The group supported the proposal and helped introduce it.
Chapman said hospital visits can be particularly anxiety-inducing for people who are unwell and need urgent help. The aim is to make it easier for staff to identify support needs quickly, including where a person is living with memory loss or confusion.
Support available across Lincolnshire hospitals
The wristbands are being used as part of a wider set of dementia-support measures across United Lincolnshire Hospitals’ urgent and emergency care services. The scheme also covers emergency departments at Lincoln County Hospital and Pilgrim Hospital, Boston; urgent treatment centres at Grantham and District Hospital, John Coupland Hospital, Gainsborough, County Hospital Louth, Skegness and District Hospital, and Johnson Community Hospital in Spalding; and same-day emergency care services in Lincoln and Boston.
Other measures include dementia bags in emergency departments. Funded by the United Lincolnshire Hospitals Charity, the bags contain activities and information resources for patients and carers, including fidget toys, colouring books and pencils, cards and dementia information.
RITA—Reminiscence Interactive Therapy Activities—systems are also available on wards. They allow patients to listen to music, watch old films and use apps, games and other activities during recovery.
Hospitals also use dementia-friendly features in buildings and clinics, including clearer signage, clocks and mustard-yellow doors on toilet facilities. For patients attending Johnson Community Hospital, the new wristband provides a visible prompt intended to support communication and orientation from the point of triage onwards.