KIND-hearted members of Evesham Older People’s Forum and Exercise Group have donated ‘Twiddlemuffs’ to Worcestershire Royal Hospital to help people suffering from dementia.
The knitted muffs will be used by the Side by Side project at the hospital to give to patients who suffer from dementia. It’s hoped the muffs will prevent them from pulling off dressings and catheters.
The Twiddlemuffs have been designed to engage their minds, with buttons, zips and buckles attached to the muffs to give the patients something else to think about and to give them a feeling of comfort and stimulation.
Side by Side volunteers carry out vital work at Worcestershire Royal aim to engage and interact with people with dementia on the ward to reduce loneliness and improve wellbeing.
Samantha Skillbeck, Side by Side Manager at Worcestershire Royal Hospital, said: “The muffs are a fantastic way of keeping people’s hands busy, and warm, when they are in hospital.
“Many of the patients that we support have cannulas, dressings and catheters that they will fiddle with and sometimes pull at.
“This can be extremely harmful and cause the patient recurrent injury.
“The Twiddlemuffs have small buttons, metal shapes, zips and buckles which engage patients’ hands and minds.
“One lady last week cried with happiness when we gave her a Twiddlemuff as it was bright pink with sparkles, sequins and gems- she said it was the most colourful and beautiful thing she had seen in a long time.
“Due to infection control, once a Twiddlemuff is given to a patient, it must go home with them and cannot be re-used, that is why we are so grateful for this wonderful donation of Twiddlemuffs, and are happy to accept more.”
The Alzheimer’s Society will be outside Evesham’s Tesco where shoppers will be able to find out more about the town becoming dementia friendly.
Members of the charity will have a stand in the entrance of the supermarket on Wednesday (May 18) where they’ll be encouraging people to sign up to support Evesham becoming dementia friendly, and to find out more about the project.
They’ll also be raising awareness for this year’s Dementia Awareness Week- which begins on Monday (May 15) and runs until Saturday (May 21).
Anyone who is interested in becoming a Dementia Friend is invited to attend a training session on Thursday (May 17) at Evesham Contact Centre. To book a place visit www.dementiafriends.org.uk.
