A NEW care suite at Wrexham Maelor Hospital will provide a peaceful setting for people with dementia to spend their final days.

The recently opened facility at the hospital’s Heddfan Older Persons Mental Health Unit will ensure that people with dementia can receive end of life care in a dignified setting away from the main hospital environment, if this is their wish and that of their family.

The refurbished suite, which will support patients on Gwanwyn Ward, has dedicated facilities to enable families to stay close to their loved one and follows Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board’s commitment to John’s Campaign, which advocates for carers’ right to stay.

It forms part of BCUHB’s efforts to improve the quality of its Older Person’s Mental Health services and act on the recommendations of external reports by the Health and Social Care Advisory Service and health investigator Donna Ockenden.

This has seen a significant increase in spending on these services, while improving staff training, care practices, and its approach to involving family members and carers.

The opening of the suite at the Heddfan Unit has ensured that all three of BCUHB’s dementia specific wards now have dedicated facilities to provide suitable end-of-life care.

A new end of life care framework has also been introduced for patients on dementia wards as well as new staff training. There is also a new joint assessment to be undertaken by families and clinicians to ensure that all the persons needs can be met on the ward.

Mental health staff have worked closely with the health board’s palliative care nurses and experts from Macmillan to ensure that patients benefit from high quality end of life care.

Alison Foster, Macmillan Head of Nursing for Specialist Palliative Care Services has jointly led on the project and says that she is delighted that the new facility is now available for people with dementia and their families.

She said: “For too long there have been unacceptable inequalities nationally, regarding access to palliative and end of life care that has meant that people with dementia and their families have sadly missed out.”