The QEQM Hospital League of Friends and Rotary & Inner Wheel Clubs of Margate have officially presented RITA to dementia nurse Karan Scrivener at the hospital.
RITA, which stands for Reminiscence Interactive Therapy Activities, is a valuable tool for use with dementia patients and has already been used widely across the hospital.
The pre-loaded system can be used by patients themselves or with a nurse, therapist or carer to engage them in a range of activities. These include listening to music, showing them photos, interactive games and even replaying famous speeches the patient may connect with.
RITA will be used daily throughout the hospital and is a valuable resource for staff on the wards. The benefits include relieving boredom, reducing isolation and, through group activities, promoting interaction with staff on wards.
Karan said: “Having Rita has already been of huge benefit to us. One of our patients just recently was presenting with psychological and behavioural symptoms of dementia. RITA calmed the patient down completely. One-to-one nursing was no longer required and the patient’s family was able to engage much better with the patient.
“RITA will make a huge difference to dementia patients and I’d like to thank the Rotary and Inner Wheel Clubs of Margate and the League of Friends for their kind donation.”
More information about the League of Friends is available at www.leagueoffriendsqeqm.nhs.uk or on their Facebook page.