A campaign to further enhance the support and care offered to patients with dementia at West Suffolk Hospital has been left a generous legacy of £20,000.
The donation was gifted to the Forget-Me-Not Dementia Campaign, run by West Suffolk Hospital Charity in partnership with the Mercury newspapers and East Anglian Daily Times.
The person’s family, who do not want to be named, chose the Forget-Me-Not appeal after deciding they wanted to support a local charity.
They said: “We have read how well-supported the Forget-Me-Not Dementia Campaign has been in the last 12 months – it is something that will make a difference to local families.
“Dementia can have a profound effect on a person and also the whole family. We know this money will be used to further improve the care of patients with dementia at our local hospital.”
Julie Fountain, dementia lead at West Suffolk Hospital, said the money would be spent on making a ward more dementia-friendly.
She explained:
“Last year, we made ward G4 more dementia-friendly by decorating in contrasting colours to help people differentiate between distinct areas and bays. That has made such a big difference that we are now keen to carry out similar improvements elsewhere. Coming into hospital can be a daunting experience, especially for those with dementia. At West Suffolk Hospital, we are doing all we can to try and make the environment more familiar and less clinical. This generous donation – and every penny raised from the appeal – will help us achieve that aim.”
The Forget-Me-Not Dementia Campaign was launched last March and has now raised more than £51,000 in the first 12 months.
It will continue throughout 2015, with the money used to create a memory walk and pay for reminiscence training and materials.
