Knitting learners offer a helping hand to county’s dementia patients

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.”  

Hannah Sargison, Senior Chartered Physiotherapist at Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust said: “It was a real pleasure to receive such carefully crafted mittens. It was clear to see the work that had gone into them from the Adult Learners and the range of colours to suit both our male and female patients was just fantastic. Our patients really benefit from using these mitts, they put a lot of smiles on faces and they are highly sought after, so it is always great to receive more.”

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.”

Councillor Marc Bayliss,  cabinet member for Economy and Skills at Worcestershire County Council said: “We have a range of adult learning courses available through the council, with options to suit everyone. It’s really lovely to see that the Knitting for Charity course has been able to create something so important and gift the mitts that were made, to those who will really appreciate them.”

Go to the Learning Services Worcestershire pages of the Worcestershire County Council website where you can learn more about what adult learning courses are available.