A SPECIAL bus stop on a ward is helping dementia patients at Airedale feel more settled and secure during their time in hospital.

The stop is meant to give people with dementia a location to walk to and sit at, in order to help with their wellbeing and reduce anxiety.

Laura Brady, ward manager on ward nine at Airedale NHS Foundation Trust, said: "We care for orthopaedic trauma patients. Two thirds of our patients are living with dementia.

"People with dementia tend to move about the ward and look for something that's familiar, or they want to go home. So we've found that if we use the bus stop, it helps them feel calmer and less anxious.”

Hospital staff have also provided a "reminiscence" day room complete with 1940s/50s style furniture complete and a fireplace. There is also a wall featuring pictures of Keighley from past decades.

The bus stop signage and timetable were donated and the bench was given to the ward by the family of a patient who had died. Staff also contributed by raising money for the day room, with nurses buying items to furnish it.

Emily Sale, senior occupational therapist at Airedale, said: “The room is very useful to us as therapists as we can use it to orientate people.

"It also helps us build conversations and relationships, as we can ask where they used to go on buses so we can talk about memories that have made up that person’s life."