8th May 2009
By David Williams
Ten NHS trusts have been given Department of Health funding as part of a project aimed at improving late-stage dementia care by enhancing the patients’ living environment.
The department has commissioned the King’s Fund to run a new phase in its Enhancing the Healing Environment programme in trusts across England, which also includes training and support for the staff teams responsible for the project.
Each trust will receive £30,000 and will have to contribute a further £10,000 out of its own budget. The money is spent on projects designed to upgrade the living conditions for dementia patients, which the King’s Fund argues can help improve health.
At the launch on April 30, care services minister Phil Hope said the EHE scheme tied into objectives set out in February’s national dementia strategy.
‘The strategy emphasises the importance of improving the experience of people with dementia in hospital. I think EHE will be of real value in helping us achieve that objective,’ he said.
EHE began in 2000, and projects have been undertaken at 133 NHS trusts, two hospices and five prisons.
