By . Emma Innes . PUBLISHED: . 10:04 EST, 5 March 2014 . | . UPDATED: . 20:14 EST, 5 March 2014 . Getting old and frail is not something to look forward to, but NHS staff are to find out first-hand exactly how tough it can really be. A suit has been created to mimic some of the troubles facing the elderly, using weights and straps to restrict movement while headphones and special goggles recreate the debilitating loss of vision and hearing. All staff at the Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust, from porters to consultants, are to be given time in the ageing suit to give them a better insight into how their elderly and dementia patients feel when they try to perform basic tasks. Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust is using an age simulation suit to teach staff what it's like to be old . It follows the example of . Peterborough City Hospital, whose staff were recently trained in how to . improve their care for obese patients by wearing a fat suit that gave . them the shape of a 40stone person. Anita . Ruckledge, a senior sister, said: ‘The ageing suit allows us to . empathise with patients who have age-related symptoms or who suffer from . dementia. It’s a way of understanding just what everyday life is like . for them. ‘It gives an . insight into how the joints move as we get older and how it might be . difficult to do things that we take for granted. It can make patients . feel very out of control.’ Those . wearing the suit found that splints fitted to their legs and oversized . shoes make them shuffle along, while vibrating gloves mimic the symptoms . of conditions such as Parkinson’s. Those wearing the suit will find after five or ten minutes that they start to slouch due to the weight of it, and pads on their elbows and knees restrict joint movement. The suit is being used by everyone from porters to consultants. Image shows volunteer Harvey Pedley wearing the suit and being supported by Anita Ruckledge, dementia lead nurse and senior sister . Splints are fitted to the legs and over-sized shoes are worn to make the user shuffle as an elderly person may do. The gloves cause a tremor to mimic the symptoms of conditions such as Parkinson's disease. Other age-related impairments that the suit helps younger people experience include opacity of the eye lens, narrowing of the visual field, head mobility restrictions and joint stiffness. They will also feel a loss of strength, reduced grip ability and reduced co-ordination skills, while also having high-frequency hearing loss. Suzanne Brassett, a ward sister on the dementia ward at Pinderfields Hospital in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, has worn the age simulation suit to allow her to get a better understanding of how her patients are feeling. The suit includes goggles and ear defenders to simulate hearing and vision loss and a neck brace to restrict head movement and replicate a stiff neck . The suit also includes heavy shoes which cause the wearer to shuffle as some elderly people do . Ms Brassett said: ‘The suit can actually make you understand how patients feel. ‘When patients say “I can't pick that up” or something you can completely empathise with them, and often by putting yourself in their shoes, you can help them to find a way. ‘It's not a nice feeling wearing the suit. I walked around a shopping centre in it and to not be able to see and not hear at the same time was really hard. You really do have to rely on everyone around you. ‘I would definitely recommend for anyone to try wearing it, because we all come across elderly people in our lives. For members of the public to try it as well would help all of us understand how it feels.’ The suit comes with gloves which cause the hands to shake and which make picking things up hard . Anita Ruckledge, senior sister at Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust, said: 'The suit really allows us to empathise with patients who have age related symptoms or who suffer from dementia' The trust is supporting a nationwide drive to improve care of people with dementia across the country, and is investing in training by enabling all staff to take part in free dementia training courses. Deputy Associate Director of Nursing for Medicine, Helen Green said: ‘We want to make the trust a centre of excellence for dementia treatment. ‘This is part of our on-going drive to improve our care and make the most vulnerable patients get the attention and the support that they need. ‘We also want to reassure family and friends of patients that we are doing everything in our power to provide them with the support they need and deserve at what can be a difficult time.’
Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust is using the suit to teach all staff - from porters to consultants - how their elderly patients feel .
Has goggles to simulate poor vision, ear defenders to cause hearing loss, gloves that make the hands shake and a vest that causes slouching .
Also has shoes that cause shuffling and braces to prevent easy movement .
By . Emma Innes . PUBLISHED: . 10:04 EST, 5 March 2014 . | . UPDATED: . 20:14 EST, 5 March 2014 . Getting old and frail is not something to look forward to, but NHS staff are to find out first-hand exactly how tough it can really be. A suit has been created to mimic some of the troubles facing the elderly, using weights and straps to restrict movement while headphones and special goggles recreate the debilitating loss of vision and hearing. All staff at the Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust, from porters to consultants, are to be given time in the ageing suit to give them a better insight into how their elderly and dementia patients feel when they try to perform basic tasks. Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust is using an age simulation suit to teach staff what it's like to be old . It follows the example of . Peterborough City Hospital, whose staff were recently trained in how to . improve their care for obese patients by wearing a fat suit that gave . them the shape of a 40stone person. Anita . Ruckledge, a senior sister, said: ‘The ageing suit allows us to . empathise with patients who have age-related symptoms or who suffer from . dementia. It’s a way of understanding just what everyday life is like . for them. ‘It gives an . insight into how the joints move as we get older and how it might be . difficult to do things that we take for granted. It can make patients . feel very out of control.’ Those . wearing the suit found that splints fitted to their legs and oversized . shoes make them shuffle along, while vibrating gloves mimic the symptoms . of conditions such as Parkinson’s. Those wearing the suit will find after five or ten minutes that they start to slouch due to the weight of it, and pads on their elbows and knees restrict joint movement. The suit is being used by everyone from porters to consultants. Image shows volunteer Harvey Pedley wearing the suit and being supported by Anita Ruckledge, dementia lead nurse and senior sister . Splints are fitted to the legs and over-sized shoes are worn to make the user shuffle as an elderly person may do. The gloves cause a tremor to mimic the symptoms of conditions such as Parkinson's disease. Other age-related impairments that the suit helps younger people experience include opacity of the eye lens, narrowing of the visual field, head mobility restrictions and joint stiffness. They will also feel a loss of strength, reduced grip ability and reduced co-ordination skills, while also having high-frequency hearing loss. Suzanne Brassett, a ward sister on the dementia ward at Pinderfields Hospital in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, has worn the age simulation suit to allow her to get a better understanding of how her patients are feeling. The suit includes goggles and ear defenders to simulate hearing and vision loss and a neck brace to restrict head movement and replicate a stiff neck . The suit also includes heavy shoes which cause the wearer to shuffle as some elderly people do . Ms Brassett said: ‘The suit can actually make you understand how patients feel. ‘When patients say “I can't pick that up” or something you can completely empathise with them, and often by putting yourself in their shoes, you can help them to find a way. ‘It's not a nice feeling wearing the suit. I walked around a shopping centre in it and to not be able to see and not hear at the same time was really hard. You really do have to rely on everyone around you. ‘I would definitely recommend for anyone to try wearing it, because we all come across elderly people in our lives. For members of the public to try it as well would help all of us understand how it feels.’ The suit comes with gloves which cause the hands to shake and which make picking things up hard . Anita Ruckledge, senior sister at Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust, said: 'The suit really allows us to empathise with patients who have age related symptoms or who suffer from dementia' The trust is supporting a nationwide drive to improve care of people with dementia across the country, and is investing in training by enabling all staff to take part in free dementia training courses. Deputy Associate Director of Nursing for Medicine, Helen Green said: ‘We want to make the trust a centre of excellence for dementia treatment. ‘This is part of our on-going drive to improve our care and make the most vulnerable patients get the attention and the support that they need. ‘We also want to reassure family and friends of patients that we are doing everything in our power to provide them with the support they need and deserve at what can be a difficult time.’
Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust, from porters to suit to give them a better insight into how their elderly and dementia patients feel when they try to perform basic tasks. Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust is using an age simulation suit to defenders to simulate hearing and vision loss and comes with gloves which cause the hands to shake