What is being done?

Outpatient services at the University Hospitals Bristol are focusing on the specific needs of patients with dementia and their carers by ensuring that the patient and their carer are involved throughout the care pathway.

This was observed by the timings of appointments that could be outside of the usual appointment times and the ability of the organisation to allow carers to stay overnight when travelling longer distances. The attitude of the Charge Nurse was reported by the South West Dementia Partnership Peer Review team to be inspirational and has had a real impact on implementing this initiative.

What is new and different?

It may not be new in making reasonable adjustments around appointment times etc. however the Peer Review team had not observed the level of flexibility and compassion in an Outpatient setting before.

What difference this seems to be making

The Peer Review team observed that it seemed to be part of the standard assessment processes and clearly documented.