Natasha Wilson, Dementia Care Manager, Associate Lecturer in Dementia and founder of Sheffield‑based organisation Dementia Dreammakers, is taking on an adrenaline‑fuelled, fully wheelchair‑accessible zip wire challenge this September to raise funds for St Luke’s Hospice and WhizzKidz.

Dementia Dreammakers is dedicated to improving the wellbeing of people living with dementia by facilitating life-enhancing experiences, alongside providing expert advice, training, and support for individuals and their carers. Central to the organisation’s work is creating positive, meaningful moments - something Natasha is deeply passionate about both personally and professionally.

Natasha’s fundraising challenge is inspired by her ongoing mission to improve experiences for people living with dementia, as well as her desire to give back to St Luke’s Hospice, which cared for her nan more than 15 years ago.

“As a child, I remember visiting my nan at St Luke’s and not feeling frightened,” Natasha recalls. “That experience has stayed with me.”

As a wheelchair user herself, Natasha has also chosen to support WhizzKidz - the UK's leading charity for young wheelchair users who provide bespoke wheelchairs for children who need them. This is a cause close to her heart – having received a wheelchair from them as a child, which gave her the independence and confidence to pursue her dreams.

Natasha has spent much of her career working within social care and dementia services across Sheffield. In a previous role at Age UK Sheffield, she worked closely with St Luke’s ECHO team to deliver a series of dementia education programmes. Now, through Dementia Dreammakers, she continues to collaborate with organisations across the city to improve environments and experiences for people living with dementia.

A key focus of this work is access to the right equipment and resources to support comfort, communication and emotional wellbeing. This includes items such as sensory equipment, electronic animals, empathy dolls, music devices, weighted blankets and communication cards - small interventions which Natasha says can make a significant difference to someone’s experience of care, based on latest research and evidence.

Recently, Natasha worked alongside St Luke’s Patient Experience Lead, Amanda Coddington, as part of a 15 Step Challenge - a toolkit designed to review healthcare environments through the eyes of patients and their relatives. Together, they identified how small environmental details can have a significant impact, including the use of colour and lighting, clearer welcome signage, and avoiding contrasting flooring that can create the illusion of steps and increase the risk of falls.

This shared commitment to dignity, compassion and continual improvement is what inspired Natasha to fundraise for St Luke’s - a charity that holds a special place in Sheffield’s heart.

“Everyone in Sheffield is aware of the amazing work of St Luke’s,” says Natasha. “There are very few people who haven’t been personally impacted by what they do.”

St Luke’s Patient Experience Lead, Amanda Coddington, with Natasha Wilson

“We give so much grace and love to people entering this world when they are born, and people deserve that same grace and love when they leave it,” she says.

Natasha is also keen to highlight the importance of recognising dementia as a palliative condition and ensuring environments are designed with this understanding in mind.

“St Luke’s has always been a great resource for people living with Dementia in Sheffield,” she explains. “We sometimes shy away from these conversations about Dementia as a palliative condition, but acknowledging that allows us to change and improve provisions available in our city and improve knowledge and understanding amongst the general public.”

That commitment to dignity and experience is something St Luke’s continues to actively reflect on and improve.

Recently, the hospice undertook a PLACE assessment – an annual review across NHS and independent healthcare settings which focuses on the non‑clinical aspects of care, including privacy and dignity, food, cleanliness, building condition, and how well environments support people living with dementia or with a disability.

Coordinated by St Luke’s Patient Experience Lead, Amanda Coddington, the assessment also considered how dementia‑friendly the hospice environment is, with St Luke’s achieving an 89.23% rating, alongside an 86.11% score for disability access.

For Natasha, this willingness to listen, adapt and improve is crucial. “It’s so refreshing that St Luke’s as an organisation has an appetite for change – always striving to make its services better for those who need them,” she says.

To support Natasha’s Accessible Zip Wire Challenge and help her reach her £2,000 fundraising target, you can visit her GoFundMe page.