MEMBERS of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra have helped launch a major new fundraising appeal to support patients with dementia at Poole Hospital.

Musicians held a mini-concert in the hospital’s dome entrance area on Wednesday (MAY 17) to raise awareness of the condition during Dementia Awareness Week, which also marked the start of Poole Hospital Charity’s £150,000 appeal.

Members of the orchestra have been staging regular performances in elderly care wards at the hospital for the past two years as part of the award-winning Music for a While programme.

Music has been shown to benefit people with cognitive impairment and memory loss by enabling emotional expression, reducing agitation and improving sleep, nutrition and fluid uptake.

The musicians will also be performing on wards in the hospital as part of their programme of activities during the awareness week.

Recent figures show Poole Hospital has over 3,000 patients admitted each year with a confirmed diagnosis of dementia. In addition, it has a significant number of patients who present with other cognitive related disorders which need further investigation.

Lynsey Moore, dementia nurse specialist at the hospital, said with increasing numbers of patients with the condition, it is vital that they, their families and carers receive the best care and support possible.

“Any hospital can be disorientating and intimidating for a person with dementia, and we recognise there is a lot we can all do to make a visit or stay easier to manage,” she explained.

“Many staff are already trained on how to properly support patients with dementia to ensure the best possible experience for them - however, there’s always more we can do.

“We now need more ‘hands-on’ items, and this is where the new charity appeal will really give us a boost. Being able to buy more reminiscence items, appropriate equipment for patients with dementia such as crockery, resources and training, as well as improvements in the hospital environment, will all help us to help them make a big difference to their care.”

Farah Batchelor, Poole Hospital Charity’s fundraising manager, is hoping the public get behind the Consider Dementia appeal.

She said: “The charity is passionate about making a real difference to patients who have to stay in our hospital and we’re aware that it’s a large and often expensive task for hospitals to become fully dementia friendly. We know people care about our hospital, and hopefully they will help us fundraise to make purchases from our wish list to start making real changes for the growing dementia community.”