There were many occasions during my father’s nine years in three different care homes when I honestly wondered if having dementia was a byword for keeping people in captivity. Day after day, week after week, residents were kept cooped up…
Ending the ‘chemical cosh’
One of the things I feel most passionately about in dementia care is the inappropriate use of antipsychotic medications. For many years these have been commonplace when doctors, nurses and care professionals have sought to quell the symptoms of dementia…
Why are we waiting?
Whenever politicians are due to proclaim on issues of health or social care, my heart invariably sinks. Well intentioned though some may be, and whatever party-political persuasion they have adopted, I always feel that they never quite grasp just how…
A sensory journey
In everyday life we can often take being able to see, hear, smell, taste and touch for granted. Senses give context to the mundane, stir our emotions, affect our body language and have the power to make the ordinary, extraordinary.…
From care to catastrophe
Back at the start of D4Dementia I wrote about the importance of continuity of care for people with dementia. It cannot be over-emphasised just how beneficial this is, not only to the person living with dementia, but also their families…
