225,000 PEOPLE WILL DEVELOP DEMENTIA THIS YEAR!
In February 2016, ‘Diary of a Bed Number‘ was released in private screenings to the staff, cast, crew and executives of NHS England, as well as a few other external companies, and the feedback was greater than anything we could have wished for. The film was then released as part of a training pack to teach new recruits in the NHS and external companies on how dementia patients should be treated.
The 20-minute fictional film that tells the story of an elderly dementia patient struggling with the terrible illness. We follow this character from the moment she is taken to hospital to when she is transported to a care home. The piece is emotional, powerfully acted and very realistic.
We have received fantastic news from the staff that the training resource has been a success, which was followed by receiving two awards from the NHS for the writing and production of the film and for the overall project itself.
The statistics for dementia are staggering and is an illness that has affected all the cast and crew through family and friends.
In the words of Jean Ramsdale (Lead Nurse – Dementia Care), “Dementia patients all over the world receive great care, but they do not receive great dementia care”.
‘Diary of a Bed Number’ is part of an educational resource made for the NHS and external companies to raise the awareness of dementia care and make the emotional impact needed for staff to understand just how serious and scary this illness can be.
For us, the challenge was to produce a film, nurses are proud to screen time and time again with the confidence that it will create the impact needed to show that dementia patients do need unique care. Because of our background in fiction, we created a film that not only has a powerful narrative, but audiences will feel as if they were watching a professional, cinematic film.
Late last year (2016) ‘Diary of a Bed Number’ was nominated and won 3 awards. Two of those awards were for the writing and production of the film. The third was the Recognising Excellence Award for the whole Dementia project.
