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Rugby nurse develops buzzer scheme to help dementia patients in A&E
Überblick
Victoria McGrath, a dementia nurse based in Rugby, has developed a pilot scheme called 'Wait Well' using restaurant-style buzzers to prevent dementia patients from becoming distressed and trapped in A&E waiting rooms. The proposal would allow clinically safe patients and their carers to leave the waiting area and visit quieter locations like a garden or shop while keeping their place in the queue. McGrath is currently awaiting funding decisions, working with the NHS Innovation Network, and hoping to trial the scheme at University Hospital Coventry.
Wichtige Punkte
- Rugby-based dementia nurse Victoria McGrath has developed the 'Wait Well' pilot scheme using restaurant-style pagers.
- The system allows dementia patients deemed clinically safe to leave A&E waiting areas with a carer and return when called.
- McGrath hopes to trial the scheme at University Hospital Coventry (UHCW) with a long-term aim of rolling it out nationally.
- The initiative aims to prevent patients from experiencing distress in volatile and overwhelming A&E environments where some have waited up to 28 hours.
- McGrath is working with the NHS Innovation Network and awaiting funding decisions to progress the pilot.