KNITTERS are being urged to create and donate special hand muffs to help hospital patients who are living with dementia.
Nurses at Royal Blackburn Hospital are looking for people to produce ‘Twiddle Muffs’.
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The knitted gloves have interesting bits and bobs attached to them to provide simple stimulation for active hands while promoting increased flexibility and brain stimulation.
Matron Gillian Currie said: “Many patients with dementia in the later stages find Twiddle Muffs reassuring and comforting.
“Whether you’re a needlework ninja or a complete beginner, we’ll be delighted if any willing knitters can create Twiddle Muffs as part of our support for people living with dementia. If you know how to knit and have some odd wool lying about you can easily make a Twiddle Muff.
The work is part of East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust’s attempts to enhance care for hospital patients with dementia at Burnley General Hospital and the Royal Blackburn Hospital.
The latter boasts a specially furnished and decorated ward which incorporates dementia-friendly design principles to enhance the care for patients living with a dementia diagnosis or cognitive difficulties – Ward C5 – which opened in 2014.
Clinical Dementia lead nurse, Sandra Nuttall, said: “There are many avid knitters in East Lancashire and knitting a Twiddle Muff is a great way for them to do something they enjoy and help patients at the same time.”
The knitting pattern can be downloaded from www.elht.nhs.uk/departments-wards-and-services/dementia-care and completed Twiddle Muffs posted to: Twiddle Muffs, Ward C5 Royal Blackburn Hospital, Haslingden Road, Blackburn BB2 3HH.
The numbers of those suffering from dementia is increasing across East Lancashire, with nearly 6,300 people now suffering from the condition.
Data released recently by the Alzheimer’s Society suggested the number of dementia patients has increased slightly since 2006, from about 6,170.
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