Local businesses step up for Dementia Action Week with May Step Challenge

To mark Dementia Action Week 2026 (Monday 18 May to Sunday 24 May), EMT Healthcare and Care Express are stepping up to support patients and families by taking on a month‑long May Step Challenge.

Every day, around 12,000 patients are cared for across Nottingham hospitals. To reflect this number, 25 members of the EMT Healthcare and Care Express team are each aiming to complete 12,000 steps every day throughout May, raising funds for Nottingham Hospitals Charity’s general fund, and dementia care at Nottingham’s hospitals. The team have already raised over £600, including Gift Aid, and are continuing to build momentum as the challenge progresses.

To keep motivation high, colleagues have split into friendly competitive teams and are sharing progress updates throughout the month. The teams taking part are:

• The Walkie Talkies
• The Strolling Stones
• Stride for Success
• The Fast and Footious
• Not Fast Just Furious
• Red Hot Chilli Steppers

A key focus of EMT Healthcare and Care Express’s fundraising is dementia care at Nottingham’s hospitals, made possible thanks to the generosity of donors. Funds raised for Nottingham Hospitals Charity help support the creation of dementia‑friendly spaces and provide specialist training and equipment for staff, helping ensure patients living with dementia receive compassionate, tailored care that promotes comfort, dignity and wellbeing.

One example of this impact is The Happiness Programme, an interactive light and music therapy platform supporting patients living with dementia and those receiving palliative care. The programme encourages movement, cognitive stimulation, and social interaction, while helping to reduce distress and reliance on medication. Staff receive training to use the technology effectively, with early results showing improvements in engagement, reminiscence and overall quality of care.

Alongside dementia care, EMT Healthcare and Care Express are also raising funds for the Nottingham Hospitals Charity’s general fund, which allows support to go where it is needed most.

Sam Paterson, Corporate Fundraising Lead at Nottingham Hospitals Charity, said:

“Dementia Action Week is about turning awareness into action, and EMT Healthcare and Care Express have done exactly that. Their fundraising helps us deliver compassionate dementia care and respond flexibly to patients’ needs across our hospitals.”

The May Step Challenge builds on EMT Healthcare and Care Express’s continued fundraising support. Earlier this year, teams hosted a charity bake sale, raising over £266, and at Easter delivered egg donations to patients, with EMT Healthcare Director Rod Muir taking on the role of Easter Bunny to help deliver smiles across our hospitals.

If you would like to support EMT Healthcare and Care Express’s fundraising, donations can be made via their JustGiving page: https://www.justgiving.com/page/emt-and-care-express-7