Leicester Hospitals are sending their staff to the theatre to see a play called ‘Inside out of Mind: welcome to the ward with no name’, in order to improve their understanding of the needs of people with dementia such as Alzheimer’s.

“Inside out of mind” has been produced by the University of Nottingham, Institute of Mental Health, Leicester Hospital’s say “The project involved knowledge exchange between the arts, social sciences and healthcare providers around the theme of dementia care; an issue that presents emotional, ethical and economic challenges for all of us.”

The play is being shown in a number of venues across the country, finishing at Leicester’s Curve Theatre from Tuesday 24 – Friday 27 March 2015. Certain showings have been earmarked for NHS staff, though tickets are available for the general public too. To find out more check out the web site here.

It focuses on a single day on a dementia care ward – taking advantage of two different perspectives. The first half illustrates patients’ interpretations of care and the environment, and the second focuses on the observations and feelings of staff.

Health Care Assistants will take the majority of seats, with the rest taken up by a mix of other healthcare staff from Leicester’s Hospitals.

Martyn Deighton, dementia awareness lead for Leicester’s Hospitals, said: “This is an exciting opportunity not to be missed. The play will complement other training we currently provide in dementia awareness.”

“Already about a quarter of all our inpatients have dementia and we know that this will increase as people are living longer. We are always looking for ways to improve care and the experience of our patients while they are with us. This play will help us do just that.”

In addition to seeing the play, there will be the chance to further enhance the experience and opportunities for learning by participating in a workshop at Curve straight after the shows.