Open visiting on in patient mental health settings, for people with Dementia

"John’s Campaign was founded in November 2014 by Nicci Gerrard and Julia Jones. Behind its simple statement of purpose lies the belief that carers should not just be allowed but should be welcomed, and that collaboration between the patients and all connected with them is crucial to their health and their well being. John’s Campaign applies to all hospital settings: acute, community, mental health and its principles could extend to all other caring institutions where people are living away from those closest to them. Since it started, a lot of progress has been made - but there is a lot yet to be done."  You can find out more about the campaign and add your support via the website link and you can also contact John’s Campaign via Twitter at @JohnCampaign

Age UK are supporting the implementation of John’s Campaign and have produced a great leaflet, which you can access digitally here  

Below is their very useful definition of what John’s Campaign is and why it is important.

So what is John’s Campaign?

John’s Campaign is a movement to help NHS Staff recognise the importance of working with carers as equal partners in the care and support of people with a Dementia diagnosis, who are in hospital.

The campaign calls for a policy welcoming family carers onto the wards, outside of normal visiting times, according to the needs of the person with Dementia.

The key focus behind John’s Campaign is an open visiting culture; supporting carer access to the hospital outside of normal visiting hours, to enable them to be with the person with Dementia when they may be stressed, anxious, upset or lonely

Why is this important?

Hospital stays are generally detrimental to people with Dementia; they often experience longer stays and poorer outcomes than the general population. All too often, when the acute episode of care has ended, the person with Dementia has lost their prior level of functioning and is unable to return home; devastating for the person with Dementia and their family, with significant cost consequences for on going care.

Involving the family carer from admission to discharge has been proven to help ensure a better quality of care, an improved patient experience and improved outcomes.

About the TwitterChat

@WeMHNurses have been supporting John’s Campaign by spreading the word online and as part of this, we were invited along to their workshop event held in London and hosted by Age UK. The aim of the event was to explore the benefits of implementing John’s Campaign in Mental Health Trusts.

In our true #BeyondTheRoom style, we were there to ensure that the conversation was accessible online for those who were not able to attend the event in person. You can read all about the day via the hash tag #JCMHAgeUk and we also produced a twitter transcript of the day which you can access here http://bit.ly/2yTVHkj

On Wednesday 15^th November from 8.30 P.M -9.30 P.M, we will be running a twitter chat to extend the conversation further by discussing themes from the event, relating to open visiting in mental health settings for people with Dementia and their Carers.

As with all our chats, this conversation will be held publicly on Twitter and everyone is welcome to participate. So, whether you are a health care professional, person with lived experience, a carer or a citizen with a curious interest in this topic, please join us!

We will be using our regular hash tag #WeMHNs . Please remember to include it so that everyone can read your tweets and so that we can produce a transcript to share with you all as well. 

Questions for chat

1. What are the key differences in physical and mental health settings re supporting carers?
2. How can we best distinguish between carers and visitors?
3. How can we improve how we identify carers in inpatient settings?
4. How can we maintain a focus on the needs of the person with Dementia, whilst supporting carers ?
5. What might be the differences in how open visiting is implemented in NHS versus independent sector settings?
6. What are the risks versus benefits of implementing John’s Campaign?
7. How might we mitigate against any risks around open visiting?
8. Could open visiting be implemented in general acute mental health settings? Thoughts?

Further multi media resources and material from #JCMHAgeUK

Rebecca Horton(@beckyhorton83) and Nirush Nicholas’s presentation about implementing John’s campaign within a Mental Health Trust

https://youtu.be/M_x0EngiIFE?list=PL0aU5CwZFTDrZjLybRYCTDq2r_Bz245Rb

Dr Natasha Lord(@natashadlord) and Paul Stokes (@paulstokes14) share their experiences of being the first Mental Health Trust to implement John’s Campaign

https://t.co/ioSrSGIiKw

Dr Kapila Sachdev shares a Doctor’s perspective on John’s Campaign

https://t.co/0S1ZcEUaNV

Tracey Shorthouse, a retired NHS Nurse shares her thoughts relating to her lived experience of Alzheimers and why John’s Campaign is important to her.

https://t.co/yVSrJIQesB

Podcast interview with Dr Natasha Lord and Paul Stokes, talking about their experiences of being the first Mental Health Trust to implement John's Campaign