Placement Overview
| Placement Title | Memory Assessment Service |
| Trust | |
| Your Placement Contact | Jon New – Send Email |
| Placement Contact’s Role |
Placement Education Lead |
| Placement Address | Breightmet Health Centre, 2nd Floor, Breightmet Fold Lane, Bolton, BL2 6NT |
| Placement City/Town: | Bolton |
| Placement Phone | 01204 483 770 – Please contact via telephone |
| Your University Contact: | Neil Murphy, Liz Burns,, Liz Tudor (Practice Education Facilitator) 0161 358 1659 or 07826 875 049 – Send Email |
About this placement
What is organised for students on commencement of placement?
Student nurses will be allocated a mentor before commencing placement with the Memory Assessment Service. The mentor will meet with the student nurse on their initial week of placement and agree the learning objectives for the placement and how these will be achieved.
Opportunities available whilst on placement include:-
- Learning about the memory assessment process and the assessment tools used
- Considering differential diagnosis
- Post diagnostic support including signposting to other services, monitoring of prescribed medications, assisting in therapeutic group to enhance knowledge about the diagnosis and memory strategies
- Shadowing multidisciplinary professionals that contribute to the patients care
- Opportunities to spend time with other services who contribute to the patients journey with dementia (both NHS Services and voluntary organisations)
What are the arrangements for mentors/assessors?
A mentor will be allocated to student nurses before commencing the placement. The Memory Assessment Service would like student nurses to make contact with the service before the placement begins to arrange a time/place to meet the allocated mentor on their first day.
What shift patterns are students allocated for learning?
Shift Notes:
The Memory Assessment Service’s core working hours are Monday to Friday, 09.00 – 17.00. Some flexibility may be required to meet the patient/carers needs
Student nurses do not need to wear their uniforms. Smart/sensible clothing is required. Please ensure you have your ID at all times.
What patient care situations are available in this placement?
The Memory Assessment Service provides clinic appointments and home visits to patients
All patients will receive an initial assessment appointment ad a diagnosis (when applicable). Following this, patients diagnosed with a dementia are allocated a lead professional and will be provided post diagnostic support tailored to their needs. This can vary dependent on the person’s preferences, suitability for certain therapies and diagnosis. The service provides a person centred care and a multidisciplinary team approach.
What nursing model is used for planning care?
The Memory Assessment Service is a multidisciplinary team and a variety of different models are used. The service is accredited by the Memory Service National Accreditation Programme who provides a set of standards to be achieved (these standards are in line with National guidance). Care planning is jointly discussed with patients/carers.
The service aims to be recovery focused, to be person centred and empower its patients.
What core clinical skills can be learnt?
Assessment of physical health including weight monitoring, blood pressure and pulse
Record keeping
History taking
Care planning
Monitoring of prescribed medications and awareness of potential side effects
Developing a therapeutic rapport with patients/carers based on trust and empathy
What additional clinical skills can be learnt?
An awareness of the different dementias, progression and prognosis
What resources are available to help students learning?
The Service has a wide variety of resources available (including book, literature searches, leaflets, memory apps and physical aids) and can arrange opportunities to visit NHS, social care and third sector services to develop the student nurses knowledge of dementia.
What research and practice development activities are being undertaken?
The Memory Assessment Service is actively involved in recruiting patients to dementia and currently is recruiting into a study. The principle investigator is based within the service and we have recently appointed an RMN within the team to act as a research champion. We would welcome student nurses to assist in recruiting patients in research however there are limited activities to actually participate in the testing process for research. The service has close links with the GMW research department and the NIHR clinical research officers as we are actively promoting a dementia research portfolio.
Spoke Placements
Older adult/adult inpatient acute mental health wards
The older adult community intensive support team
The older adult community mental health team
The Alzheimer’s Society
Bolton Dementia Support Group
Additional Information
The expected outcomes from the Memory Assessment Service include:-
Improve early detection, assessment, diagnosis and treatment
Allow more informed choice about care and treatment alternatives
Promote dignity in care
Promote independence and increased social inclusion
To have a positive impact on the health of carers
To reduce or delay admissions to residential care