Stroking a friendly pet, be it rabbit, dog, hen, cat or guinea pig can prove a real mood enhancer for anyone. For those in the later stages of dementia it can provoke moments of responsiveness like few others. Writing for The Guardian, Anita Pati explores some of the benefits as the NHS tries to face up(…)
On the day when NHS staff have walked out on strike for the first time in 3 decades and a report out from the Care Quality Commission states that a staggering 90% of care homes and hospitals have aspects of care that are “variable or poor” for those with dementia , there can be little(…)
This year’s Nobel prize in Physiology or Medicine will have important implications for future research into Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. Announced on October 6th, the prize was awarded jointly to Professor John O’Keefe from the UK and Norwegian husband and wife team, May-Britt and Edvard Moser “for their discoveries of cells that(…)
The announcement by the Care Quality Commission that it will be issuing official guidance later in the month for secret filming in care homes, if mistreatment of residents is suspected, is sure to ignite the debate on the use of CCTV in care establishments. The use of cameras in care homes is always going to(…)
An extra £5m is to be made available to GP surgeries in the most recent of a series of NHS strategies to increase diagnosis rates of dementia in England. Speaking at the Annual Conference of the Royal College of General Practitioners this week, NHS Chief Executive Simon Stevens, promised the extra funding to encourage GPs(…)
The link between depression and dementia is perhaps an obvious one. Yet recognising the symptoms of depression in someone with dementia may not be as easy as you might expect. Many of the symptoms of depression are shared with those of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease in particular, and it is not uncommon for people to think they(…)
The number of people in the UK diagnosed with some form of dementia is rising steadily, and the social care system as it stands today is simply not equipped to cope says Jeremy Hughes, Chief Executive of the Alzheimer’s Society. Writing in The Guardian, he warns that services to support and care for the elderly are on(…)
The dementia charities have long been campaigning against the financial burden placed on families in having to pay for care of loved ones with dementia. Shocking new figures from the London School of Economics and Kings College London on behalf of The Alzheimer’s Society now reveal the true scale of the problem. BBC News Health(…)
Professor June Andrews was this week awarded the Royal College of Nursing’s highest honour for her work with older people and those suffering from dementia. The Fellowship, which is RCN’s highest honour, goes to members who have made an exceptional contribution to nursing and health care. Since 1976 it has been awarded to fewer than(…)
This new dementia documentary from the US demonstrates the power and joy of personalised music therapy Winner of the audience award at Sundance Film Festival in January this year, “Alive Inside” is a US documentary showing first -hand the effects personalised music therapy can have in re-awakening memories and evoking powerful emotional responses in those(…)