A national seminar entitled Dementia-friendly hospitals – a myth or a reality? was organised on 6 September 2022 at the South Auditorium, Mater Dei Hospital, by the Maltese Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics (MAGG), the Malta Dementia Society (MDS), the Department of Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences and the Department of Gerontology & Dementia Studies, Faculty for Social Wellbeing.
Following a reflective introduction by the Dr Stephen Lungaro Mifsud, Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences, Professor Anthea Innes, Professor Health Aging and Society, McMaster University, Ontario, Canada, gave the keynote presentation.
This was followed by four national speakers. Dr Anthony Scerri, Senior Lecturer at the Department of Nursing, evaluated the local research on dementia care in the Maltese hospitals. Professor Charles Scerri, Associate Professor, Department of Pathology, University of Malta and Chair of the Malta Dementia Society, proposed recommendations how hospitals can become truly dementia-friendly. Mr Alex Gobey, Dementia Care Coordinator Commcare, Assessment Unit Active Ageing and Community Care, gave a presentation entitled Bridging the discharge gap from acute to community care.
Finally, Mr Christian Vella, Visiting Lecturer, Department of Gerontology and Dementia Studies and Research Officer at the International Institute on Ageing, United Nations, Malta, reflected about the importance of inclusivity in hospitals with respect to persons living with dementia who are LGBTI. The event was closed by Professor Andrew Azzopardi, Dean, Faculty for Social Wellbeing, who emphasised the importance of collaboration in this sector.
More than 90 participants attended this event coming from different professional sectors in health and social care that work directly with persons living with dementia in hospital settings.
