Thank you for taking the time to visit our Forget-me-not appeal JustGiving page.

Being a patient in hospital can be frightening and isolating for a person with dementia. In the right surroundings, patients can feel less frightened and anxious which can create a less stressful environment for our other patients and our staff that care for them. 

One in every three older people will experience some form of dementia. People with dementia aged 75 years and older are highly vulnerable to illness, accidents and falls, all of which can lead to hospital admission.

There are currently 700,000 people in the UK with dementia. In 30 years time the number of people with dementia is expected to rise to 1.4 million.

Creating a caring environment to meet the needs of people with dementia is really important. Carefully designed retreat rooms and patient areas on a hospital ward can help reduce anxiety, disorientation and restlessness. This can improve the patient’s experience of hospital as well as help their recovery.

That's where the Forget-me-not appeal can help.

In 2010/11, the appeal was set up as the Lord Mayor’s Forget-me-not Appeal. The appeal was picked by the then Lord Mayor of Leicester, Colin Hall and co-ordinated by Leicester Hospitals Charity. We needed to raise £100,000 to create a new centre of excellence for dementia care in our Leicester Hospitals.

The appeal was a huge success with a specially designed garden being created along with new Meaningful Activities Co-ordinator roles being put in place and enhanced staff training. Although the Lord Mayor’s year has ended, you can still donate to the Forget-me-not appeal to help us continue to enhance our care for patients with Dementia.