Bradford Teaching Hospitals and local construction firm, PEC, are joining forces to raise funds for a landmark project on dementia care taking place in the city.

The Foundation Trust is one of just 12 bodies throughout the UK to have secured a £50,000 grant for The King’s Fund Enhancing the Healing Environment Programme, which is funded by the Department of Health.

The Foundation Trust is contributing a further £15,000 towards the scheme which will transform wards 23 (orthopaedic trauma) and 29 (elderly care) by the end of September.

Today the organisation announced that PEC have adopted the Enhancing the Healing Environment programme as its nominated charity for 2011.

PEC are a local construction firm whom the Trust have partnered with on many construction projects, including the Enhancing the Healing Environment project.

PEC Chairman, Balbir Panesar, said the firm were keen to contribute to this worthy cause, which is a subject close to his heart.

He continued: “Each year PEC adopts a local charity to support and when I was told about this enhancement project at the Bradford Royal Infirmary it was an

obvious choice to fundraise for, given it is our local hospital and the staff there are trying to create something that will make a real difference to many.

“To see how these wards are being transformed for the good of patients is very rewarding and gives us, as a company, great pride in being part of something that will transform these two wards, not just for patients but also for staff and visitors.

“Over the next year we are aiming to fundraise as much as we can to give even more back to the community that we serve. This refurbishment programme is a real team effort between PEC, the nursing staff and the estates department at the

BRI as we strive to deliver this project by its September 30 launch.”

The EHE project aims to deliver practical improvements to the hospital environment to promote the health and wellbeing of people suffering from dementia.

Wards 23 and 29 are being transformed under a ‘Yorkshire Outdoors’ theme which includes the help of:

•           Colour to aid dementia patients’ orientation and pathways around the ward;

•           Use of reminiscence media including art work, photographs and digital images from the Yorkshire Film Archive and objects to personalise bed spaces;

•           Dynamic lighting to aid a patient’s sleep and wake cycles;

•           A reminiscence café to form a relaxing area away from the clinical   environment.

Clinical Services Manager for the Elderly, Debbie Beaumont, said: “The finished  scheme will be of high quality with cutting-edge designs and ideas which will reflect the true feeling of what patients with dementia and their families actually want and need from a hospital environment.

“During the last year, we have consulted widely with local people, patient’s carers, groups and charities to ensure that we are creating the best wards for patients with dementia, as this group often find coming into hospital distressing and disorientating.

“To ensure the project continues to thrive, we are delighted that further fundraising is being undertaken by PEC and on behalf of the dementia patients and their families we would like to urge the public to support this charity work.”

In support of the Enhancing the Healing Environment project at Bradford Teaching Hospitals, PEC are hosting “The Taste of Yester Year Ball” at the Aagrah Midpoint Restaurant in Thornbury, Bradford, on Friday September 23, 2011.

Tickets for the Ball cost £60 each and include dinner and entertainment. To purchase tickets please contact Lindsay Smith at PEC on 01274-686668.