Tag Archives: dementia

Dementia is not just a problem for old people

May 25, 2013   Alzheimer’s, Cancer, dementia

PATIENTS as young as 40 have been diagnosed with dementia in Plymouth.

Friday, May 24, 2013

Plymouth Herald

The shocking age shows why state-of-the-art services are available in the city.

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Sara Mitchell, right, the Plymouth Community Healthcare lead on dementia services, said: “Recently we had two gentleman aged about 40 and a woman who was 42. Generally speaking it’s 65 and over.

“But we’ve had some very young people recently.

“We’ve seen rates increase in the last five years and we expect that trend to continue as we all live longer.”

Dementia care in Plymouth has three strands – a memory service, a complex care team and the Edgcumbe ward at Mount Gould Hospital.

Ms Mitchell explained: “The memory service sees patients who are referred from GPs with significant memory problems diagnosis.

“Then they will be seen at fairly regular intervals and monitored and see how their dementia progresses.

“Medication can slow the process down but the deterioration varies massively from person to person.”

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Dementia Awareness Week: a family carer's message to professionals

May 24, 2013   Alzheimer’s, Carers, dementia

Carers should be recognised as advocates and their views integrated into assessments and care packages

 

Relationships are based on memory, says Ming Ho, but people with dementia may come to view loved ones as strangers.

Every week or day of the year, it seems, is designated to remind us of some issue or medical condition. The public, and indeed care professionals, could be forgiven for awareness fatigue. So what is particular to dementia that sets it apart from all these other claims on our attention?

Well, firstly the stats. According to the UK Alzheimer’s Society 2013 data, there are now more than 800,000 people in this country with some form of dementia; one in three over 65 will develop it, the incidence increasing with age. There are already 10 million people over 65 in the UK and 3 million over 80. This latter figure is projected to almost double by 2030. Thus everyone is likely to know someone affected, directly or indirectly. As a care professional, even if you are not a specialist, you will probably come into daily contact with at least one person with dementia.

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Dementia beds set to be axed in Carlton Colville as part of mental health shake-up

May 23, 2013   Alzheimer’s, Carers, dementia, mental health, Norfolk

Reducing the 12 beds and maybe staff

Anthony Carroll anthony.carroll@archant.co.uk
Thursday, May 23, 2013
11:41 AM

The mental health trust for Norfolk and Suffolk has launched an internal consultation into the future of acute dementia beds for elderly people in Great Yarmouth and Waveney.

Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust has announced it is looking at reducing the 12 beds at Carlton Court Hospital in Carlton Colville, near Lowestoft, and replacing them with dementia intensive support teams to provide care for more elderly people at their homes in the Waveney and Yarmouth areas.

It is believed the number of beds in the dementia ward could be cut to three and 31 staff could be affected.

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