Inpatient wards (Alderney Hospital, Poole)

St Brelades Ward is a male assessment and treatment ward for men (generally older adults) with an organic mental health illness and associated complex behaviours. The ward accepts patients with dementia from all over Dorset. A highly-specialised multi-disciplinary team works closely with community resources and families/carers in the best interests of the person on the ward.

Herm Ward is a female assessment and treatment ward for women (mainly older adults) with an organic mental health illness and associated complex behaviours. The ward accepts patients with dementia from all over Dorset. A highly-specialised multi-disciplinary team works closely with community resources and families/carers in the best interests of the person on the ward.

Carers wishing to visit their relatives or loved ones on either ward are asked to contact the ward beforehand to ensure that it is safe and appropriate for visits to take place.

The wards undertake to accommodate as many of the carer's needs and wishes as possible while they have someone they care for on the ward at the same time as providing a safe environment for the other people who are there.

Please note that both Herm and St Brelades are wards for people who have an established diagnosis of a dementia with neuropsychiatric symptoms that are very challenging. They are not places to assess whether someone has or hasn’t got a dementia, nor are the beds seen as a place to transfer patients who are nearing discharge from functional wards because a diagnosis of a dementia has been made later in treatment.

We have other services that are explicitly designed to offer an alternative to hospital admission, wherever possible, such as community mental health teams (older people) and intensive community support for dementia teams.