The Distraction Therapy Collection is a range of specialist equipment, including touch screen monitors and tablet computers provided by My Improvement Network. Healthcare professionals at Walsall use the equipment at point of care to distract and stimulate patients with dementia. In a successful collaboration between the Older Adults Mental Health Team, Dementia Support Team and Library and Knowledge Services, a unique online tracking system for the collection was created and is now managed by the library specialists.

About the project

A review of the existing collection between the Library Manager and the Advanced Nurse Practitioner identified a need for a better tracking system for the equipment. The collection originally based in the Older Peoples Mental Health Team’s office was moved to the library to alleviate storage problems. A task and finish group was led by the Evidence-Based Information Specialist and the Dementia Support Worker who performed a range of activities including; compiling an inventory of the collection, checking the equipment worked and devising an online loaning procedure. All the distraction therapy equipment was labelled and added to the library catalogue so items can be tracked. The library team were trained by the Dementia Support Worker on using the specialist equipment. A web page was created to promote the collection and to enable online booking. The library team promoted the collection and explained the new procedure to Ward Managers. Regular ward visits are undertaken by the team to monitor the process.

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