As a light was shone, yet again, on the huge inadequacies within our home care services as the issue of 15-minute visits hit the headlines, I decided to time my morning routine. Just how much could I as an able-bodied…
Tag: isolation
Let’s talk about dementia – Silence
Welcome to the seventh of my seven ‘mini’ blogs for UK Dementia Awareness Week 2013. They are all themed around talking about dementia, exploring different aspects of conversation from the point of view of people who are living with dementia, carers and…
Power to the people
If you are a family carer you will know only too well the emotional, physical and mental toll that caring can take on even the fittest, healthiest and most positive people. The very nature of caring means it is relentless,…
“He used to look so handsome”
Never has the idea that a picture can tell a thousand stories been more true than when it comes to caring for our older people, particularly those with severe physical or mental health problems. I have written previously about my…
Getting technical
How many times have you forgotten your pin number or tried to work out what an abbreviation in a text message means? How often have you cursed technology for presenting you with what appears to be an insurmountable problem, declaring…
Home alone
Imagine that every morning when you wake up, you are unable to get out of bed without the help of a carer. You might wake up quite early, needing the toilet or wanting a hot drink, but you live alone…
The ageing mind
Given that dementia is one of the diseases that people fear the most, there is a very strange acceptance that we will all have ‘memory problems’ as we get older. Indeed the government’s National Clinical Director for Dementia, Alistair Burns,…
In sickness and in health
Through my work I am very privileged to meet and chat with people whose day-to-day life revolves around caring for someone with dementia or living with it themselves. Why ‘privileged’ you might wonder? Simply because having walked this path with…
Celebrating longevity
Hearing the tributes this week to Reg Dean, the gentleman who had been the UK’s oldest man until he passed away at the tender age of 110 years and 63 days, reminded me of the amazing stories behind the faces…
Christmases past and present
I think for most people Christmas is about the many traditions we each have for celebrating the festive season. For the last nine years our family traditions were modified to fit in with my dad’s life in care – this…