Care Partners Credo Set To Music

J. Arthur’s Memory Cafe sings its annual Care Partner Credo to all those giving care to others.  Hope you enjoy.

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If you know of a Memory Cafe please let us know.  Alzheimer’s Speaks is trying to keep track of them in our International Collaborative Resource Directory for Dementia.

Click on the graphic below to contact us.

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Did You Miss The Dementia Chats Webinar Today? No Need To Worry

If you missed the Dementia Chats Session today, there is no need to worry.  All sessions are FREE and recorded for your convenience.  You can go to the Alzheimer’s Speaks website to find past recordings and handouts, along with upcoming sessions.  Here is the direct link to the page where you can find the links and handouts.  We all hope you find the discussion helpful.

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URGENT! Your Help is Needed NOW to Protect Dementia Awareness

Hi Everyone,

Lori La Bey Host of
Alzheimer’s Speaks Radio

I don’t often write to ask for your help, but this is one of those times I must reach out to you.  One of the biggest advocates for dementia, Norrms McNamara has been BANNED FROM FACEBOOK.

 One man can make a difference. 

Norrms has proven that and you can too!

Norrms McNamara,  knows of which he speaks. 

He lives with the disease and has honored us all by allowing us an inside peak as to what life is like with dementia.  Norrms has helped so many people world wide with his beautiful poetry and prose, but even more so for his unwavering commitment to shift our dementia care culture world wide.

Norrms was the voice who shared with me the concept of the Memory Cafe which I brought over to the US and now they are popping up all over, as the need is so great for this new type of social support for people living with memory loss.

Norrms started Dementia Awareness Day last year and it has grow and gotten the support of individuals and communities world wide.  Here is the link for more information on Dementia Awareness Day.

This is a man who is working on dementia friendly communities and business models over in the UK.  His insights are many, his passion is endless and his purpose is powerful.

Please watch the video and then sign the petition for Norrms voice to be heard on facebook.  Facebook allows Norrms to make connections to people, organizations and communities in need; which would not be possible through other means.  Is that not one of the largest benefits to Facebook?  United people around the world…I sure  think so!  Norrms isn’t selling anything but hope and new ways to live with a disease that torments so many.  Please let his gift to the world continue.

One man can make a difference. 

Norrms has proven that and you can too!

Here is the Link to the Petition

Thank You for Your Help!

Lori La Bey

 

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High Quality Dementia Care Revolves Around a Person Centred-Support Approach

High Quality Dementia Care

 

By Diane Lightfoot, Director of Communications, United Response

Back in March 2012, the ‘Prime Minister’s Challenge on Dementia’ white paper was launched which included a list of 14 commitments, covering: Improvements in Health and Care; Creating Dementia Friendly Communities that Understand How to Help; and Better Research.

Commitment 4 in this white paper refers to “A Dementia Care and Support Compact signed by leading care home and home care providers”.It further goes on to explain in detail that ten top organisations have signed up to deliver high-quality relationship-based care and to provide support to people with dementia. Furthermore, they have also signed up to actively engage and to involve the wider community in this work.

The white paper illustrates the culmination of better insights into the scope and extent of the major effects of dementia in the UK. These figures which have been extracted from the Alzheimer’s Society website help to underline some of the key points:

1. 800,000 people living in the UK have dementia. Within 10 years this will increase to 1 million and by 2051 the figure will be 1.7 million
2. Presently only 41% of people with dementia receive a diagnosis
3. The propensity to have dementia rises with age, from 1 in 1,400 (40-64years) to 1 in 6 (80+ years)
4. Family carers subsidize 34.8% of the £23billion cost of dementia to the UK. This equates to a staggering £8billion.

Nevertheless, statistics only form part of the story. Indeed, the most important message that was taken from this year’s Dementia Awareness Week, which ran from 20-26 May, was to remember that there’s a lot more to a person than the dementia. The emphasis should be on the person, not the dementia.

This approach goes hand in hand with United Response’s person-centered approach to supporting people with dementia. Indeed, this approach is at the focal point of everything that we have done over the past 39 years.

The Prime Minister’s white paper highlights the need for a similar, personalised approach to dementia support. It explains in great detail about ‘relationship based care and support’. The most important question that needs to be addressed is; how will this work within the NHS?

Searching online under ‘Dementia Awareness Week’ revealed a web chat which was run by two clinical nurse specialists, who both work at a Midlands NHS Trust, with 50 years’ experience of dementia and caring for older people.

The web chat helped to illustrate the fact that their dementia training is split up into a mixture of both mandatory sessions for new members of staff and monthly voluntary sessions. Actually, the majority of NHS hospitals are beginning to understand that there are major benefits to be gained from giving person-centred dementia care training to their staff.

At this Midlands Trust they had been providing this form of training for over ten years. The techniques and tools taught in such training turned out to be both ingenuous and creative.

The Trust in question implemented a ‘Getting to Know Me’ form for dementia patients. This is a reworked version of a form initially put together by the Dementia Services Development Centre at Stirling University. The form is filled in by the patients family or carer and it incorporates both the patient’s previous life and experiences. By making use of this personal insight, staff can strive to meet the needs of the person they support.

The Trust also has activity coordinators in place whose main role is to help calm people prone to agitation. They encourage ‘purposeful activities’ for those who need to be stimulated whilst in a hospital environment.

Essentially, this particular Trust has also formed excellent working relationships with external organisations. For example, they have worked very closely with the Alzheimer’s Society on a number of projects such as Memory Lane and the Forget-Me-Not Lounge.

Most of the techniques, tools, projects and campaigns specified in the web chat revealed a common trend. It was all about staff choosing to adopt a patient (or person)-centred approach.

At United Response, we believe that a person-centred approach is essential in helping to provide effective dementia support. Furthermore, we have looked to develop expertise in this type of support for as long as we have existed as an organisation, as demonstrated by our Best Practice Guide. For more information about the dementia support available please visit:
http://www.unitedresponse.org.uk/what-we-do/dementia/

We are extremely pleased to have put that approach into place which shows that we have full confidence in it. Our belief in the approach has been taken onboard by the Government, leading charities and the NHS, as they look to the future of dementia support.

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