Health and social care staff are benefitting from some brand new resources which help them to identify and manage delirium (sudden confusion) in people and reduce hospitalisations

One of the known barriers to helping people is language and some new translated materials have been getting rave reviews from community health and social care staff in parts of Greater Manchester.

The community delirium toolkit is designed for health and social care staff to use in the community to help them identify and manage delirium in people over the age of 18 and not under the influence of drugs or alcohol. It is based on national evidence and includes resources which have been co-produced both with and for both clinicians and people with delirium and their families.

The toolkit includes a leaflet, which has been translated into 10 languages in print, audio and video formats. Printed versions of these materials in Urdu, Bangla and Gujarati have been used across Greater Manchester, with community teams able to safely manage 70% of patients with delirium at home in Bolton, Manchester, Salford, Stockport and Trafford.

Greater Manchester delirium Leaflet short version

You can access the translated resources here

Staff have been reporting some positive responses from people using the material.

These are great resources as they use the same words using Asian language alphabets for the word ‘delirium’. They include a lot of plain common language which older people can understand easily. What I’ve learned so far is that people want translated material but also ask for English versions as well to enhance their understanding. Abdul Shakoor, Tameside, Oldham and Glossop Mind

The intended benefits of the test (pilot) was the early detection of delirium and reduced hospital admissions, and to provide information that can be more easily understood to patients and family members. The report from the pilot is available at Greater Manchester Community Delirium Toolkit Pilot Report March 2021.

The material contained a good Gujarati translation with clear explanations and a ‘to-the-point’ message. This type of information should be widely circulated to raise awareness on the subject because it is affecting many individuals and they don’t know. Imtiaz Patel, Gujrati Writers’ Guild

Our community really is in need of information in relevant languages as this can only be good for older people as they struggle with many health issues. I like the Urdu translation as it is very professionally done and easy to read as the font size is big. Also, the translator has used common Urdu words rather than jargon. Sabir Raza, Carvan Men’s Group

We know from experience and research that language is a barrier to really making a difference in helping people to manage delirium. So I am delighted we have been able to develop these resources, which are making a difference to the lives of people who are living with delirium. Warren Heppolette, executive lead for strategy and system development at Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership

For more information, please email gmhscp.dementiaunited@nhs.net