Nurses design 'carer's passport' to allow flexible visiting for carers

Clinical nurse specialists at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust in London have designed a 'carer's passport', a card that allows carers of people with dementia to visit outside visiting hours.

Nurses Bethany Cotton and Marcelle Tauber devised the business-card-sized passports that state: 'This card allows me to visit outside visiting hours'.

The trust's dementia lead Jo James said: 'Patients who have dementia or are vulnerable often rely on their carers to help guide them through everyday life experiences, including time spent in hospital. However, traditional hospital visiting times do not enable carers to fulfil this important role.'