Tag Archives: alzheimers
Dementia patients’ ‘postcode lottery’ of care
Dementia patients across England are receiving a “postcode lottery” of care, with health authority spending per patient varying 21-fold.
Freedom of information requests to 134 primary care trusts (PCTs) have found the amount spent per dementia patient varies from £38 at NHS Nottinghamshire County to £802 at NHS Barnsley. The average for the 54 which provided information to GP magazine, which submitted the FOI requests, was £160. Four in 10 spent less than £100.
Dealing with dementia
Dealing with dementia is frustrating for the person with the condition, but also for family carers.
5 March, 2012 | By Katie Smith
Providing this sort of care at home is a 24-hour, seven-day a week job with little or no time to relax. From personal experience, I have seen the devastating effect of Alzeimer’s on my family and the difficulty in getting support from health and social services.
My grandparents celebrated 60 years of marriage last year. Since my Nan was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s two years ago, her mental state has inevitably worsened. My Grandad is now her full-time carer although my parents, myself and our family help as much as we can.
Fiona Phillips: Alzheimer’s drugs robbed my dad of life
The Daily Mirror columnist said sedatives doctors gave to Neville, 77, crushed his personality and left him a wreck
Furious Fiona Phillips believes her father’s death was brought on early by strong drugs used to treat his Alzheimer’s disease.
The Mirror columnist, who is campaigning for better care for the elderly, said sedatives doctors gave to Neville, 77, crushed his personality and left him a wreck.
It is now 20 days since Fiona’s dad died and her grief is still brutally raw. But this pain is not a new emotion.
Fiona has been mourning her parents, Amy and Neville, for an agonisingly long 14 years since her mum first began to be gradually stolen away by Alzheimer’s disease.
By the time she died in May 2006, her dad was already firmly in the grip of the same illness. It was a cruel coincidence which has come to dominate the family’s life.
