A LANDMARK study into dementia based at Bradford Royal Infirmary is now starting to recruit people to help with the research.

Bradford Teaching Hospitals is one of only three places in the UK taking part in the study looking at the way hospitals care for and rehabilitate dementia patients after they have surgery for a fractured hip.

Researchers want to sign up people in Bradford, who have been touched by dementia, to act as lay researchers and advisory members on the study.

The five-year £2 million programme called PERFECTED (Peri-operative Enhanced Recovery hip FracturE Care of paTiEnts with Dementia) will investigate how better standards of care can be implemented across the whole of the NHS to improve the outcomes of hospital admission for people with dementia.

Experts say one quarter of acute NHS hospital beds are occupied by people with dementia and rehabilitation is difficult due to delirium and other complications with many returning home in worse health than when they were admitted.

Isla Dowds, patient and public involvement facilitator at Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: ‘The main reason for involving local people in this study is so that their expertise - gained through their personal experience - can shape the research programme.

“They can make sure that it reflects how a person affected by dementia might think or feel about it. This type of insight is vital in helping researchers understand people’s needs related to having dementia, and to make sure these are taken into account in designing and carrying out the research. That is a powerful contribution to make to the vital work of improving care for people with dementia.”

Lay researchers will help the programme to assist in the collection and analysis of interviews. Some training will be given and expenses will be paid. The programme is being led by the University of East Anglia’s Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences following a grant from the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR).

Carers or people living with dementia are also being sought for an advisory group, which will meet two to four times a year, researchers are hoping that people will commit to helping their study for at least two years.

Dr Simon Hammond, programme manager and research fellow for the PERFECTED study, added: “This is an exciting opportunity for people to bring their knowledge of what it is like living with dementia and marry that with the expertise of the researchers working on the programme.

“We need people who will be willing to contribute to discussions and making decisions, and help us produce research that can be understood and put to practical use.”

The programme involves a UK and international team of researchers with the Alzheimer’s Society and Dementia UK as partners.

"After the programme has ended, it is hoped that the guidelines will be rolled out under a four-year trial across the NHS," said Miss Dowds.

To find out how you can take part in the Bradford arm of this study, contact her on (01274) 383863 or email isla.dowds@bthft.nhs.uk.