The care and support provided by our NHS staff is second to none - particularly on our elderly and psychiatric wards - but no matter how well funded the NHS is, nursing and other care staff will never have sufficient time or resources to give the quality of care that we would all like to see to ensure that elderly patients can maintain dignity, social activity, mobility and mental as well as physical well-being in hospital.

My personal journey

Sadly the final years for both my Mother and my oldest brother were blighted by dementia.  Fortunately they received loving, dedicated and stimulating care at home from their family.  During their various periods in hospital or respite care, however, we noticed a deterioration in their mental  and physical well being. This was not a result of poor care by the dedicated staff who looked after them but was largely a consequence of disruption to their normal daily life and routine,  separation from loved ones, the unfamiliar surroundings, and the lack of one to one engagement, social activity and stimulation in those settings.

The Small Acts of Friendship programme, funded by the Friends of Brighton and Hove Hospitals, seeks to provide, for those receiving care in our local hospitals, that loving and stimulating environment which my mother and brother received at home. Helping elderly patients retain dignity, social activity and mobility must be a priority.

Since its launch in November 2017 Small Acts of Friendship has helped thousands of patients, and is now fundraising to continue that programme, allowing us to build on what we have learned and to introduce improvements. 

The Friends of Brighton and Hove Hospitals, of which I am a Trustee, depends on the kind generosity of individuals and we urgently need funds to support this programme and expand it to cover respiratory wards, mental health units and to those whose end of life care is being provided in hospital.