There are many times in a person’s life with dementia that are described as pivotal. Often these are the difficult, crisis occasions that create the negative narrative that is so commonly associated with dementia. But after my recent personal experiences…
Tag: healthcare
Resolve to embrace human rights
(A note before I begin this blog post: You should not consider anything written in this blog as legal advice for you or anyone you care for). During my dementia training for social care professionals, I ask participants: “Do you…
Why are you a carer?
On the face of it this is a really simple question, yet it is one that can generate so much discussion. It’s something I’ve been asked a lot in the last few years in the context of, “Why did you…
Missing the morning chorus – Life with hearing loss
Hearing is one of the senses that I believe many people take for granted. I think the general assumption most of us make is that we are hearing everything, or at least everything we think we need to hear, and that…
Co-production in health and social care – It really isn’t rocket science
Last week was the first ever National Co-production Week, identified on twitter as #CoProWeek. Organised by the Social Care Institute for Excellence, the creation of this awareness raising week marks an important milestone in recognising that if you work in health or…
Care and support in the post-Brexit landscape
Mostly I love social media and its ability to give ‘real time’ reaction to news and events, but I have to say that I didn’t enjoy the negativity I saw this morning following the decision of the majority of the…
GP’s and care homes – A relationship under pressure
When I first read that GP’s were proposing to alter their current arrangements for visiting care homes, I wasn’t surprised. Back when my dad was living in care homes, GP’s were already under considerable pressure. I know that one of my dad’s…
Fixing dementia care in hospitals
Standards of hospital care for people with dementia made the news last week, with an investigation by the Alzheimer’s Society showing shocking variations in the quality of care being given, prompting the charity to launch their ‘Fix Dementia Care’ campaign. Given…
The ‘stages’ of dementia
I had a very refreshing conversation recently with someone running a care company about the ‘stages’ of dementia. In this person’s view, the way in which the medical model defines dementia by different stages isn’t helpful for a more human…
Spotting dementia
My last D4Dementia blog was all about remembering the person, and as World Alzheimer’s Month draws to a close for 2015, I want to tackle another theme from this month of awareness raising – spotting the signs of dementia. I’ve…