Senior sister Helen Seymour presenting on the dementia work taking place at Heartlands Hospital

A senior nurse from Birmingham has discussed the innovative dementia care work taking place at Heartlands Hospital in a high-profile presentation at the Houses of Parliament.

Helen Seymour, senior sister of ward 30 at Heartlands Hospital, was invited by the National Council for Palliative Care (NCPC) to present her findings on how her team and the NCPC have worked together to offer patients enhanced care and end of life services.

Helen has been working in nursing for more than 20 years, with a particular interest in end of life care. She said: “Ward 30 consists of 28 acute elderly care beds, with 11 of these for dementia patients that have challenging behaviour or require end of life care. In partnership with the NCPC, we have improved the patient experience by facilitating conversations around end of life care, empowering carers to make informed decisions through greater access to information and resources, and investing in staff training to ensure they can sufficiently manage difficult conversations with patients.

“The result has been a more positive experience for all involved, making sure that each moment counts for patients on the ward. We will continue to develop these services with a range of upcoming initiatives, including therapeutic visiting, reminiscence therapy and ongoing staff training.”

For more information about the dementia care work currently underway, please contact Helen Seymour on helen.seymour@heartofengland.nhs.uk.