Author: Peter

Member updates

Behaviour

A member’s brother has been in hospital with UTI  / aggressive behaviour. He has had antibiotics and meds to calm him down . She hopes the care home will have him back. He had aggressive behaviour before he went into hospital. Tatiana suggested there could be a link between the aggressive behaviour and the UTI. Janet pointed out all behaviour is a form of communication particularly when words become more difficult. Agression can be caused by a change in the dementia but not always. Sometimes it is caused as a reaction to something a person in not happy about. The people without dementia can have a huge impact on the life of someone with dementia so it is important time is taken to consider what might be the cause in a change in behaviour that might not be to do with deterioration of someone’s dementia.

The sister said the aggression was to do with his personal care. Janet asked who does his personal care and whether his preferences have been considered? The brother has male and female carers. Janet said enquiries could be made to find out whether the behaviour happened with all carers or particularly with male or female carers. It is expected a home will have male and female staff to meet personal care preferences which is a very private form of care. Tatiana suggested asking what will happen when he goes back to the home regarding the care plan and meds, and how often will this be reviewed.

The sister reported her brother hasn’t been happy in the home for some while and he can’t always vocalise. Janet suggested trying to encourage him to talk about what has been making him cross as assumptions should not be made that he would not be able to say what he was unhappy about.

Janet suggested a book ‘And still the music plays‘ to gain an insight into the world of individuals with dementia and the reasons why those subjects reacted to situations as they did. The book shows the impact people without dementia can have on those who do. She suggested seeing if the local library had a copy of the book instead of buying it.

The sister asked for ideas for Christmas. Janet suggested  the puzzles we use at Reflections. She suggested the sister look at companies such as Relish (formerly known as ActiveMinds).

Being OK

A mum is ok at the moment. She’s happy in herself. She talks to people and does remember things from a long time ago that float back into her memory. The daughter has just returned from a fabulous time in Paris at the Olympic Games.

The next meeting will be on Monday 14th October 2024 at 7:30pm.

Member updates

Progress

A member told us that her mum is stable and the funding for the care home has been sorted out.

A good care home

Another member said her Mum is settled in the Rosewood care home. Her mobility is better and she engages with staff. One year on there is no further decline in her dementia.

Steady state

A report back from a sister was that everything is ticking along with her brother.

Developments

A husband said his wife is in the advanced stages now. She doesn’t recognise him and struggles to get about at times. The carers supporting her are extremely good . 

The next meeting will be on Monday 9th September 2024.

Member updates

Eating slowly

A member’s wife is eating her meals very slowly. Her husband spoke to their consultant. She asked if the “slow eating” takes over an hour, it doesn’t, so the consultant did not consider this particularly slow. The husband said meals were now almost drifting into the next one. Generally he feels his wife is relatively stable, but he has looked back on his notes and they show a clear decline. Janet recommended keeping notes to ensure you have a clear record of what has happened, medications etc. The husband told the group he was off for a holiday, but that trips away were becoming more difficult given his wife’s situation.

Sleeping much of the time

A mum in a care home is regularly sleeping for 20/30 minutes, then she gets up and looks for something to eat. The care home have placed a motions sensor mat by her bed to indicate when she gets up at night. This behaviour is not causing problems, but mum has put on weight. The home is having issues recruiting permanent staff and regularly uses agency people. The seem to be carefully managing the staff – for example: only regular staff deal with personal care. There are activities in the home, such as singers and films. Mum likes the music, but after a while she will tend to return to her room and have a nap.

Mum usually does not recognise her daughter and has asked her if she is the person who has come to repair the TV. The daughter finds some of these meetings amusing, she tries to be positive.

The daughter has finally (after five months) sorted out the council’s funding. She took Tatiana’s advice to put everything in writing (mostly in emails). The council has a variety of interested teams, none of which seem to have enough staff.

Australia update

The carer, with her brother living in Australia, said she was very grateful for the support her brother gets from the care home and a friend there. His communication had improved recently, the sister assumes there has been a change in his medication. Tatiana reminded the sister that the care home should hold regular reviews with her – she should ask about the home’s procedures. The home arranges activities, but he is now mainly interested in the trips out on Fridays. The sister does not know his schedule beyond this. Meeting virtually on Sundays, rather than Fridays, ensures he is not too tired to talk. She is reassured that he seems to have made friends in the home.

Useful information:

Please note: The next meeting will be on Tuesday 9th July 2024.