WORCESTERSHIRE Acute Hospitals NHS Trust will receive an extra Christmas present this year – knitted hand warmers for dementia patients across the county.
Patients living with the advanced stages of dementia can find the mittens stimulating to fiddle with whilst in hospitals.
Some of the county’s adult learners have been taking up knitting through the ‘Knitting for Charity’ course.
They decided to pass on their creations to the trust for dementia patients at both Worcestershire Royal Hospital and the Alexandra Hospital in Redditch, and they were very gratefully received.
The course taught learners how to create Twiddle Mitts, which are colourful knitted or crocheted band with beads, buttons, bells and other items attached to provide sensory stimulation. They help to keep restless hands busy and soothe and comfort those who are anxious or agitated.
The Knitting for Charity course took place online during the summer and catered for those new to knitting and those with more experience.
Donna Kruckow, lead nurse for Older People at the trust, said: “We have been using twiddle muffs successfully for some time and we are always grateful for additional supplies.
“Our patients with dementia get to keep the twiddle muffs that they receive in hospital for ongoing therapeutic benefit so this additional supply will enable us to keep distributing them to all patients who can use them.”
One of the participants on the knitting for charity course, Julia Day, said: “I joined for two reasons, to support a good cause and to develop my own knitting skills and did both with this course. I met some lovely people and we had a fab tutor, thanks for running this course.”
Visit www.worcestershire.gov.uk/adultlearning for more.
