A KNITTING group from Chester is in line for a national award as its dementia-friendly cannula sleeves continue to prove a hit in hospitals across the country.

Since January this year Handmade for Dementia has made a whopping 3,335 sleeves that have been snapped up by 55 hospitals in the UK.

The group has just discovered it has been named a finalist in the ‘Trailblazers’ category of the Alzheimer’s Society’s Dementia Friendly Awards to be held in London on November 22.

Handmade for Dementia founder Sharon Holdstock said: “We’re absolutely over the moon to be named as finalists! It’s a huge honour.”

The idea of the cannula sleeves is that dementia patients in hospital play with the tassels on the sleeve, rather than the cannula in their arm. This keeps them occupied and helps doctors and nurses do their jobs.

Sharon said: “Most patients at that stage of dementia will pull the needle from their arm, therefore this would require a member of staff to re-cannulate that patient over and over again and that can take anything from five to 20 minutes.”

Figures suggest this this could cost the NHS anything from £3 to £20 every time. “We are saving the NHS thousands of pounds,” added Sharon.

The dementia sleeves invented by the group were originally trialled at the Countess of Chester Hospital where clinicians reported they made a huge difference.

Dementia Specialist Nurse Jennifer Polvani-Jones previously told The Standard: “We can’t thank Sharon and her fellow knitters enough for the hours and hours of comfort they have provided for our patients.

“Being in hospital can be distressing for anyone, but that is particularly true for someone who is living with dementia. All knitted twiddle items can provide a comforting distraction and the sleeves also make it less likely for patients to remove their cannulas if they become distressed, which affects their treatment.

“It’s fantastic that Handmade for Dementia volunteer so much of their free time to make hospital stays that bit more comfortable for patients living with dementia.”

Sharon’s group meets at The Piper pub in Hoole on Monday afternoons between 1pm and around 4pm. They provide wool but are always grateful for donations of wool and financial help.

For more information or to join, visit www.facebook.com/groups/HandmadeForDementia/ Follow them on Twitter at @HfdnwUkOfficial