The continued service development is led by a Dementia nurse specialist: Sister Yvonne Weldon.
Dementia care at Luton & Dunstable Hospital aims to provide a person centred approach to the person with Dementia when they attend the hospital. We also aim to offer support and relevant sign posting to the carers of people living with dementia.
Many nursing and clinical staff are now trained at an enhanced level and have the skills and knowledge required to manage the needs of the person living with Dementia. The Luton & Dunstable University hospital is proud to be a member of the National Dementia Action Alliance and is developing its services to meet national Dementia friendly requirements and standards.
We do not have a specific Dementia care ward; our aim is to treat individuals in the most appropriate ward/ department for their specific acute health need. We support ‘Johns Campaign’ which is a national campaign allowing the carers of the person with Dementia the right to stay with them. We cannot provide overnight accommodation but we are happy to make the carer as comfortable as possible for as long as they wish to stay at the bedside.
Support Offered:
We do not hold Dementia clinics at the Luton and Dunstable University Hospital. All memory and diagnostic clinics are held by community mental health service providers.
Should you have an outpatient clinic appointment you can phone ahead to request a first appointment slot to avoid any delays and possible waiting which can cause distress to the person with Dementia.
Alternatively make your needs known to the clinic clerk when booking into the clinic.
We will do our best to facilitate any special requests.
Links to tertiary centres:
Carers lounge – located in St Mary’s wing on the hospital site
Alzheimer’s society support services – located at Disability resource centre, Dunstable.
Carers in Hertfordshire – [email protected]
To families of all our patients, we wanted to give a reminder that sadly, at both Bedford and the Luton & Dunstable Hospital, we are still unable to allow any visitors on site, unless there are exceptional circumstances, for example in maternity or children’s departments, or for those patients who are receiving palliative treatment at the end of their lives, on a case-by-case basis.
At Bedford changes are being made to support services and we would now ask that, from Saturday 6 June 2020, you contact the wards using the direct lines found here.
For the Luton & Dunstable, we are offering a dedicated Next of Kin helpline for family members who want to check up on their loved ones – please nominate one family member to call 01582 718884 between 8am and 6pm.
