From wards to wellbeing: the Royal Victoria Hospital Meeting Centre
Parallel 3
17 November, 2026 5:00 – 6:10 pmRethinking dementia care in acute hospitals
Ruby Swift
Research Associate
Association for Dementia Studies, University of Worcester
Summary
This presentation provides an update on the development and evaluation of the Royal Victoria Hospital Meeting Centre, the first hospital-based adaptation of the Meeting Centre model in the UK. Meeting Centres are community-based resources, grounded in research evidence, that support people living with dementia and their families; this work explores how this model can be translated into an acute hospital setting.
The initiative was informed by lived experience, including the perspectives of a collaborator living with dementia whose experiences of hospital care highlighted the need for more supportive and enabling environments. Lived experience has continued to shape the work through ongoing involvement in the research and development process.
The presentation will share learning from the implementation of the Meeting Centre within a hospital context, alongside an overview of the ongoing mixed methods evaluation designed to understand its impact. This includes work to capture a range of experiences and outcomes for people living with dementia, those close to them, and staff, as well as consideration of wider system impacts.
Drawing on emerging insights and learning to date, the session will explore the opportunities and challenges of introducing a Meeting Centre in a hospital setting, and reflect on implications for future development, adaptation and wider adoption.