A carer’s mum is now in Riverlee Care Home. She is setting in and doing well. They had a lovely social worker assigned to them and it was decided, due to mobility issues, mum would need nursing care. Another carer had given her a list of homes covering Bromley, Bexley and Greenwich. The first carer said it’s a case of “do it yourself really”.
Meltdown after 1 hour
A daughter carer is feeling more positive now the family are connected to social services. Prior to that they had a Mothers Day outing incident which had shaken everyone up. The daughter decided that she needed to avoid situations which escalated a pattern of behaviour. The family decided, once her mum had given consent, to contact social services. Now carers come in 3 times a week to help with bathing. “It lifts a weight off your shoulders and you feel you’re not alone”. Tatiana recommended asking social services for a befriending service. Janet suggested contacting Volcare Greenwich for their carers support volunteers (a free service) 020 8302 0198 for care in your own home. Another carer said she uses this service and highly recommended it. Miss Mardles companions were also recommended.
Learning opportunities
BLG Mind provide a selection of services, including a course for carers. Janet suggested interested carers put their name on the course waiting list (call 020 3198 2222). You can find out more here.
Moving into another care home
A wife said she couldn’t keep her husband safe at home. While he doesn’t make a fuss, he was unhappy in the care home where he was having a trial stay. She spoke with the home about his needs and they said he needs nursing care because of his mobility and she would need to find somewhere else for him. At the present she is funding his care. Janet said how difficult it is making life changing decisions. A carer said it’s very stressful making decisions, but it was for her mum’s safety she needed to move into a home. Now they have more quality time together.
Tatiana said the husband is entitled to an assessment from social services to assess what type of home would best support his needs. If someone didn’t want social services to assess, they can go and look themselves and the home would need to assess his needs. The wife worries about her husband’s mobility when he is in care. Tatiana recommended expressing the need for his mobility to be considered as part of the assessment. He should have a care plan that documents his needs and she, as his wife, should be consulted. It will be his home so it’s important to express all concerns and they should work with you.
Increasing issues
A carer’s sister is having her appendix out tomorrow. She’s been having some pain and he felt she has been “making a bit of a nuisance of herself”. She has been referred back to the Memory Clinic. Her brain scan hasn’t happened yet. She now has someone to give her meds at night. The brother is taking all of this hard. Tomorrow the op and after that what? Sometimes she is bright as a button and other times depressed and quiet. Janet said Admiral Nurses will be working in the borough, but have not started yet, so she will let him have the national number for Admiral nurses (details here)
Janet’s information piece
Three promising drugs for treating Alzheimer’s disease bring fresh hope: Read details here.
Jamie’s “Thank you for the music” show went down a treat.
His choice of artist-appropriate outfits caused some comments and applause. Jamie is such a character. One new member commented :He is fabulous”.
David’s crafters have produced some tasteful artwork over the weeks. Here is another dry-clay creation, made today.
I feel an exhibition might be the next step.
The dancers liked the challenge of ever decreasing circles.
We have some keen dancers, as well as those preferring the occasional soft shoe shuffle.
Janet, and partner, threw themselves into a Jive.
This week is Volunteers’ Week. To celebrate our wonderful volunteers, without whom we couldn’t run the group, we took this photo of this week’s team with their “Thank You” certificates.
The Reflections Friendship Group is next at Shrewsbury House on 20th June at 1pm. Mark will be back with some smooth tunes to entertain us.
Please note: in our uploaded photos we blur the faces of all group members. You do see the faces of our wonderful volunteers.
Tony became so excited, he lost his voice at one point. Fortunately, the group sang on and he was soon back in full force.
The coronation theme seemed to help generate lots of fun.
A couple of our lovely volunteers had their birthdays pointed out.
Our volunteers did another great job. Here are Julie and Dot relaxing. We were very please to welcome Elizabeth, our newest volunteer.
The Reflections Friendship Group is next at Shrewsbury House on 20th June at 1pm. Jamie will be back with his “Thank you for the music” show to entertain us.
Please note: in our uploaded photos we blur the faces of all group members. You do see the faces of our wonderful volunteers.
The ever popular Vikki threw herself into a great performance.
She danced around the room encouraging members to join in – which they did.
The coronation theme seemed to help generate lots of fun.
A couple of our lovely volunteers had their birthdays pointed out.
We over-ran a bit, due to the enthusiasm of the group.
Janet and I were very pleased to welcome Elizabeth, another visitor from the Rotary Club of Greenwich, and Kelly the new Admiral nurse from Oxleas Memorial hospital.
The Reflections Friendship Group is next at Shrewsbury House on 23rd May at 1pm. Tony will be back to entertain us.
Please note: in our uploaded photos we blur the faces of all group members. You do see the faces of our wonderful volunteers.
We were treated to an excellent performance of some great tunes.
Gyda was busy leading the paper crafts.
David had his ever popular clay tilers.
We enjoyed seeing some of our new members dancing the afternoon away with our regulars.
John (from our wonderfully supportive Rotary Club of Greenwich) came to see the group. Here he is explaining to me how he doesn’t dance, but by the end of the afternoon he was dancing along with everyone else.
The Reflections Friendship Group is next at Shrewsbury House on 25th April at 1pm. Julian will be back to entertain us.
Please note: in our uploaded photos we blur the faces of all group members. You do see the faces of our wonderful volunteers.
Janet told the group about the The Shared Lives Schemes.
The schemes support adults with learning disabilities, mental health problems or other needs that make it harder for them to live on their own. The schemes match someone who needs care with an approved carer. The carer shares their family and community life, and gives care and support to the person with care needs.
Some people move in with their shared lives carer, while others are regular daytime visitors. Some combine daytime and overnight visits.
Janet also spoke about the latest news from the Alzheimer’s Society Innovation Hub – see below.
Innovations from the Alzheimer’s Society Innovation Hub
Eargym hearing app for hearing health checks.
Hearing loss isn’t just for older people. From understanding your hearing age, to strengthening your hearing skills with immersive games – Eargym aims to make better hearing accessible for all.
Hearing loss and dementia related. Hearing loss is correlated with mild cognitive impairment and dementia. Research shows that even mild hearing loss doubles the risk of dementia (see the RNI:D article here), while moderate hearing loss triples the risk, and severe hearing loss can increase the risk up to five times. To reduce the risks of hearing loss and dementia, it is important to look after your hearing and health and treat even mild hearing difficulties.
The Alzheimer’s Society suggests the following ways to support someone with hearing loss and dementia:
Ensuring regular hearing health checks
Wearing hearing aids and treating the hearing loss as directed by an audiologist
Learning to communicate with visual cues, prompts, gestures and expressions
Sibstar a debit card for people with dementia.
The Alzheimer’s Society say Sibstar is the first, highly secure debit card and app designed to help families living with dementia to safely manage their daily spending. Amongst other things, the app gives you the ability to set daily and monthly spending limits, switch cashpoint, and online it adapts as the needs of individual customers change, delivering financial independence and enabling people with dementia to continue living life the way they choose. The costs are: £4.99 setup, £4.99 a month to run the app and 99p per withdrawal.
New and improved Jelly drops
Jelly Drops have launched a new version of their sugar-free sweet designed to help those with dementia who struggle to hydrate! They claim to be tastier, easier to eat & with 60% less plastic packaging. New Jelly Drops still contain 95% water with added electrolytes to support hydration. You can find out more here.
Member updates
Moving into a care home
A daughter gave an update on her mum. She is still in a care home, but she seems more like her old self. The daughter is seeing a financial advisor and is getting a house valuation. The social worker is still chasing her to move her Mum into a permanent location. However there are no spaces available that will meet her mum’s needs. Tatiana recommended asking to speak to the social worker’s manager to discuss the situation and next steps.
This article here suggests the local authority will fund the first six weeks of a temporary care home placement, where a person needs to be moved out of a hospital. If a suitable permanent place can not be found within six weeks, discussion will need to be had regarding next steps. This may mean taking on the payment of the care home place until such time as a permanent place is found.
Another move
Another daughter said her mum has had Covid in Queen Elizabeth hospital, but tested negative today. She is going to Charlton Park home tomorrow (04/04/23). She has a social worker who is learning as she goes along, but they are on quite good terms. The daughter is trying to get a financial assessment done. She has been told her mum has to have 24 hour care. She says she has got over the guilt of placing her mum in care. She said she had been told there would be a panel to discuss her situation but didn’t know what this involved. Tatiana explained the process of going to the panel to decide what happens – there is shared information from all those involved in deciding her mum’s care and the carer should be invited to give their input too. Care homes have to work with carers in placing people in the right place.
More care needed
A new member spoke about caring for her husband. They have a supportive family, but she now needs a bit more help. Her husband has planned surgery in early May and lots of appointments. He has hearing issues and had trouble with his hearing aid. – they had issues with Lewisham hospital who said they couldn’t see him for a few weeks. As his wife knew how loss of hearing affected her husband, they ended up going privately to Devika James on Lee High Road – they were very pleased with their service. The husband is now more vulnerable than he was and needs more help and is more reliant on her. She takes time out to meet a friend once a month. The husband has been referred to groups, Live well with dementia, and Cognitive stimulation group at Oxleas, plus another group at Age exchange.
Waiting lists
A sister has become more belligerent and uses colourful language. The Memory Clinic said the family will have to wait until things get really bad before they will intervene. There are ongoing issues with her taking her meds. She is still deciding when she’s going to take them. Janet asked if is there a mental capacity test coming up. Apparently there is a 6-7 month back log, so they are waiting. Her brother was concerned about his sister saying inappropriate things when they are out, as she is prone to make personal remarks about others. This is something she never used to do. Janet advised having a discreet word with the person the comment is aimed at if he feels they heard, saying words along the lines of “I’m so sorry, my sister isn’t well ”.
Advancing symptoms
A wife has become harder to look after while the husband is away a break, as she has trouble going up the stairs. She can’t work out at times how to use her feet. Janet asked if he had considered a care home placement while he is away. He felt a respite place would throw her out of routine as it would not be familiar and she would be better at home. The husband said he has got used to how his wife is, but her daughter still finds it hard.
Reflections 