At Leeds Teaching Hospitals, around 5,000 people with a known dementia diagnosis are admitted across St James and Leeds General Infirmary each year, and around 100 patients with dementia attend across the emergency departments every week.

People living with dementia can find the Emergency Departments overwhelming and distressing, with busy, noisy environments and unfamiliar routines increasing confusion and anxiety.

It is currently difficult for staff to identify who these vulnerable patients are, which means it can be much harder to support the problems these individuals face and provide care tailored to their needs. This can also be a worrying prospect for families and carers who are accompanying an individual to A&E.

That’s why, thanks to donations, Leeds Hospitals Charity has provided over £15,000 to fund a two-year pilot to improve the experience of people with dementia attending the Emergency Departments. This two-year scheme will be commencing soon.

The pilot will introduce two simple but effective interventions:

• A Forget‑Me‑Not lanyard, acting as a clear visual identifier to discreetly alert staff that a patient may have additional needs
• A tote bag, designed to help reduce distress, provide reassurance and offer gentle distraction. Items include, a comb, tissues, notepad, pen, activity book and colouring pencils.

Inspired by the success of the Learning Disability and Autism care bags, Alison Raycraft, Lead Nurse for Older People and the Leeds Teaching Hospitals Dementia Steering Group came up with the idea for the project with input from people living with dementia, carers and frontline staff, helping to ensure it is practical, sensitive and informed by lived experience.

“We want patients with dementia and their families or carers to feel supported from the moment they arrive at A&E to the point of discharge.

“By providing every patient with a lanyard and some patients with a tote bag we can help staff recognise patients’ needs more quickly, improve communication and reduce anxiety for both patients and carers. Patients will be able to take the lanyard home with them and bring it with them to any future hospital visits.

“We hope that this pilot will show us how small initiatives like this can create moments that matter for patients and ensure that staff can provide compassionate, patient-centred care.”