Uchenna Onuzulike, an enhanced observation healthcare assistant, has come up with a great solution to help our most vulnerable patients. He identified that simple environmental cues could significantly help them orient themselves and he turned his idea into a successful pilot project.

"When I was looking at ways to reduce elderly patient falls, I noticed that inadequate signage was confusing and disorientating for our patients.

"There was also a delay in mobility assessments, particularly at night, which meant that patients were getting out of bed without assistance, increasing their risk of falling."

To combat this, the project introduced several key, low-cost interventions that have already been fully installed on Hardy Ward:

The project focuses on two key areas:

Reorientation tools - installation of dementia-friendly signage including:

• Bed curtain rail stickerswhich are visible when patients wake up
• Toilet door stickers which help to consistently remind patients where they are
• Personalized meal table stickers to help patients recognise their belongings and their current location
• Dementia-friendly wall clockswhich have high-contrast displays with clear date and day to help patients stay oriented to time.

Mobility assessments – the development of a user-friendly tool and staff training to ensure timely assessments, especially for patients admitted outside of normal working hours.

“Our pilot has shown that these simple, compassionate interventions can profoundly improve the hospital experience for our patients, create a safer environment and turn a moment of confusion into one of comfort and safety.

“Now, our goal is to get more funding to roll out these effective, low-cost solutions to all elderly care wards across the Trust.”