NHS charity invests over £22,000 in therapy devices for patients with additional needs
Patients with dementia, anxiety and learning disabilities are among those to benefit from the introduction of five therapeutic devices across Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals.
The Reminiscence Interactive Therapy Activities device, a portable touch-screen system, offers a welcome distraction for patients receiving enhanced care due to their additional needs.
Previously, hospital teams closely observed patients at risk of falls and agitation, but lacked the tools to distract them, boost their mood, or help soothe anxieties, explained Julie Wragg, corporate nurse at DBTH.
She said: “Our teams will watch patients to prevent them falling but there isn’t always engagement with them. It can mean boring and long days for both colleagues and patients.
“RITA has opened up a way for them to pass the time and build up rapport and trust as often patients who are confused can feel vulnerable when in hospital.”
Use of the RITA reduces the need for medication to settle those who are distressed, Julie explained, with activities that include quizzes, interactive musical instruments and short television broadcasts from the 1950s and 60s.
Eighty-eight-year-old Trevor Holder, a patient on the Mallard Ward at Doncaster Royal Infirmary, loves watching musicals on the device.
He said: “It passes the time and helps to have some entertainment while I’m here.”
The RITA is also useful for group activity.
The interactive device comes with a wide range of reminiscence and therapeutic content, allowing staff to evoke fond memories and engage patients.
A staff member said: “The RITA helps me get into conversations with patients about what they enjoy and what makes them smile.
“It gives them a little sense of being people.”
One patient had emigrated to the UK, but with the help of the RITA, he could see the place he had lived before and was ‘taken aback’.
The RITA also aids communication for patients who have difficulties speaking or describing things.
Patients can use a special photo of a body on the RITA to point to or show where they may be hurting.
The introduction of the RITA devices was made possible by the generosity of the local community and Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals charity.
Julie said: “Knowing that the community has funded this is hugely heart-warming and they themselves may just benefit from RITA in any potential future admissions.”