Labelled family photos around the bed can help staff relate to patients with communication problems

Patients can gain great comfort from having copies of precious family photographs by their bed.

If the patient is not able to move easily, ensure that the photos are where he or she can see them. When my mother was in hospital, I enlarged her favourite photographs so that she could see them clearly on the wall beside her.

Also, if the patient has had a stroke which has left them with speech problems or has any other condition that affects their ability to communicate, labelling the photographs with the person's name and a few details about them, can help staff start simple conversations which can bring a smile or a grateful nod of acknowledgement from the patient.

Jill

We are grateful for some advice we received from a mother of a child with learning difficulties who has told us that labels are best done with black ink because some people with visual imparement find other colours more difficult to read