Like many people who have supported the Dementia Friends initiative, I was delighted to hear the announcement that the target of creating one million Dementia Friends was recently reached. Dementia Friends is the UK Government’s initiative, in partnership with the…
Tag: support
An elephant never forgets… but sometimes humans do…
So here we are in 2015, with all the usual hopes for improvements in services and support for people with dementia and their families. It’s tempting to write my first blog of the year on what needs to happen to…
A helping hand
When a loved one is living with dementia, it is inevitable that a time will come when they will need additional help and support. A person with dementia may be very resistant to any intervention from any individual, and who…
£55 to diagnose dementia
When the headlines first broke that GP’s in England are to be paid £55 to diagnose dementia, I have to admit I wasn’t surprised. Improving diagnosis rates has been the number one target since the 2009 National Dementia Strategy, and…
Humanity in care – The role of touch
One of the most controversial elements of care provision is touch. It has a discomfort associated with it for many professionals, and even family members can have deep reservations about touch. It can be associated with abuse, both by ignoring…
Living with dementia as a younger person
In amongst the figures announced recently by the Alzheimer’s Society on the scale and cost of dementia in the UK, the data on the numbers of younger people developing dementia was particularly notable. It is estimated that 42,325 people are now living…
A rallying call!
For the start of 2013 I wrote ‘My dementia wish list’. Arguably I could just re-blog that for the start of 2014, since everything I described in that post is just as relevant now as it was 12 months ago.…
Caring for carers
For many years I’ve thought of carers as the forgotten millions. As a family we certainly felt forgotten on many occasions during my dad’s 19 years with dementia, both before and during his years in care homes and his spells…
15-minutes of shame
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…
Diagnosis – The day and the aftermath
Given that dementia is one of the most feared, if indeed not THE most feared disease in the UK and beyond, you could probably turn the moment of diagnosis (worldwide a new diagnosis of dementia is made every four seconds)…