Conference to focus on improving care for people living with dementia

The Trust which runs Shropshire’s two acute hospitals is to host a conference which will look at improvements in care for people living with dementia.

The conference – Changing Dementia Care – will take place at the Shropshire Conference Centre at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital on 18 May 2017.

Speakers confirmed for the event include Chris Roberts and Jayne Goodrick, who featured in an extraordinary BBC Panorama documentary about living with dementia.

It is the latest conference to be hosted by The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH) as it continues to look at innovative ways of improving patient care not only at its two hospitals – the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital (RSH) and the Princess Royal Hospital (PRH) in Telford – but also in the wider community.

The Changing Dementia Care conference follows two successful end of life care conferences held in the last two years. It is being organised by Karen Breese, Dementia Clinical Specialist at SaTH.

She said: “A quarter of patients in our hospitals live with a dementia or some form of confusion. We are working to ensure that those patients, and their carers, receive the individualised and sensitive care that is appropriate to their needs, to help to ensure that their stay in hospital is no longer than it needs to be.

“In recent years, there have been a number of initiatives that we have introduced in order to improve care for people living with dementia and for the people who care for them. This conference will build on that and is an excellent opportunity for health and social care professionals to improve the care that they offer.”

In September last year, SaTH launched its Living Well With Dementia appeal. The three year appeal aims to raise £2.6 million to provide a number of benefits for patients to improve ward and outpatient departments so that they are dementia friendly.

Work will include improvements to the ward and outpatient environments to make them dementia friendly, new clocks, colour-coded hand rails and toilet seats, improved signage, new crockery and cutlery and reminiscence items.

This will build on other initiatives developed by SaTH in recent years, including:

  The Butterfly Scheme, which uses a butterfly symbol to quickly and discreetly identify patients with dementia or confusion.

  The Carer’s Passport, encouraging carers to visit and stay with patients living with dementia in order to provide reassurance, support, and help with eating and drinking and other day-to-day activities.

  This Is Me, a leaflet that people living with dementia can use to tell staff about their needs, preferences, likes, dislikes and interests.

  Twiddlemuffs, thick hand muffs with bits and bobs attached to the inside and out which are designed to provide a stimulation activity for restless hands for patients with dementia.

  Dementia-Friendly Café – held once a month at PRH with plans to introduce a similar café at RSH to allow people with dementia and their carers to get together over coffee and cake to talk about their experiences.

Karen said: “The conference will open with national speakers and will be followed by an afternoon of workshops, delivered by local experts who will share their experience, knowledge and examples of good practice.

“We are very excited to be holding this conference for the first time. It promises to be an excellent day.”

SOURCE: James Baylis, Wrekin News

Eight minute target for life or death ambulance calls is relaxed: Report also urges services to hire more call handlers to advise patients over the phone

The eight-minute target for ambulances to reach life-threatening emergencies is being relaxed in a trial that simply lets paramedics arrive as quickly as they can.

It means patients having heart attacks, strokes or seizures will not be guaranteed an ambulance within eight minutes.

Amid a record number of 999 calls and a severe shortage of paramedics, a report also urges ambulance services to hire more call-centre handlers to advise more patients over the phone, rather than dispatching emergency vehicles.

The eight-minute target for ambulances to reach life-threatening emergencies is being relaxed in a trial that simply lets paramedics arrive as quickly as they can.

The response time trial is under way in three of the country's ten ambulance services – South West, West Midlands and Yorkshire, which serve a total of 16million patients – and could be extended nationally. But most of the public are unaware of it and it has only been highlighted today in a report by the National Audit Office.

It was gradually introduced in the three regions last year with no announcements, fuelling concerns that the public have been deliberately kept in the dark.

The report reveals that more than 10.7million calls were made to ambulance services in 2015/16, a 30 per cent rise in four years.

On top of this, ambulance services are facing a recruitment crisis, with as many as one in ten paramedic roles vacant.

This is having a severe impact on ambulance response times, and many severely ill patients have been left waiting more than an hour for an ambulance to arrive. The most serious calls – including cardiac arrests, breathing difficulties, heart attacks or strokes – are meant to get an ambulance within eight minutes.

In the trial, this is relaxed for the slightly less critical cases – known as Red 2 – which include heart attacks, strokes and seizures. These have been reclassified as Amber cases and there is no fixed time limit – paramedics are urged to respond as quickly as they can.

All Red 1 calls are sent an ambulance in eight minutes, including cardiac arrests – in which the heart stops, or for people who are struggling to breathe.

The trial will be assessed in spring and if deemed a success, will be introduced nationally. The report warns the eight-minute target encourages 999 operators to send 'multiple' ambulances or response cars to the same emergency, just to 'stop the clock'.

Amid a record number of 999 calls and a severe shortage of paramedics, a report also urges ambulance services to hire more call-centre handlers (stock image)

Ambulance services are fined if paramedics fail to reach 75 per cent of the most serious calls within eight minutes.

On average, around a quarter of ambulances are 'stood down' before they reach the scene because another crew has already arrived.

The report says it would be better to dispatch one ambulance in 15 minutes, for example, leaving other crews free to respond to the most serious cases.

But Lib Dem leader Tim Farron said: 'How can the NHS trial this without patient knowledge? When people call an ambulance they expect it to come quickly.

'How can they downgrade a heart attack to an amber call? It's life and death.'

Only one of the ten ambulance trusts meets the response-time target of reaching 75 per cent of serious calls in eight minutes, the report shows.

It also highlights how ambulances are increasingly held up in queues outside A&E units that are too busy to accept patients.

Last year, ambulance services lost a total of 500,000 hours waiting outside A&E instead of responding to other emergencies. 

Professor Keith Willett, NHS England's Medical Director for Acute Care, said: 'The ambulance service is facing significant pressures partly because too many ambulances are dispatched to simply hit targets rather than attend to those patients most in need – with 25 per cent of dispatched blue light vehicles being stood down before they reach the scene.

'That is why we're carefully testing a change to the way in which ambulance services can respond. 

'It's an idea that has come from doctors and paramedics, giving them much more control to do the best thing for patients. 

'These trials are designed to make sure ambulances focus on the right priority – getting to the most urgent patients in the quickest possible time, and improving the service to all patients who dial 999.

'All ambulance and A&E staff are working hard to keep handover delays to a minimum, with a view to eliminating them altogether. 

'These delays have many contributory causes, and often reflect pressure on beds within the hospital as a whole and a system that is struggling to discharge patients to community settings.' 

SOURCE: Sophie Borland, Daily Mail

Revealed: American dementia sufferer found DUMPED in UK car park had filed restraining order against 'volatile' son accused of flying him over from LA

An elderly American dementia patient who was flown to Britain and dumped in a car park by his family had previously filed a restraining order against his 'volatile' son.

Roger Curry, 76, was targeted by his son Kevin who would appear outside his house screaming and banging on the door until neighbours 'worried for his safety', local residents told Panorama. 

The elderly man was taken from his home in Los Angeles by his wife, Mary, and son, Kevin, to the UK where he was abandoned without identification in November 2015.

He was found at Hereford bus station in the company of two men who flagged down a passing ambulance.

As paramedics assessed him, one of the men – described as having an American accent, but younger than Mr Curry – vanished from the scene, leaving the elderly man to be cared for at a nursing home while police and social services tried to ascertain his identity.

'Volatile': The American dementia sufferer whose wife and son flew him from Los Angeles to the UK before dumping him in a car park without ID filed a restraining order against his son for 'domestic violence'. 

Protection: Court records from 2000 show Roger filed for a restraining order against Kevin,  because of 'domestic violence' - and it was granted two months later

Victim: Roger Curry, above, 76, was found at Hereford bus station in 2015, in the company of two men who flagged down a passing ambulance. One of the men - who spoke in an American accent - disappeared as paramedics helped Mr Curry

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Court records filed in 2000 show that the pensioner filed for a restraining order against his son because of 'domestic violence'. It was granted two months later.

'Their relationship has always been kind of volatile if you want to call it [that],' said Zenia Leon, a neighbour. 'Kevin, you could hear him at all different hours of the night, just pounding on their door trying to get in, screaming and yelling at them profanities.'

She added: 'We worried for their safety.'

According to court records, Kevin Curry has a criminal record stretching back to 1999.

Mr Curry was finally flown back to America eight months after being found, and is now under the care of health authorities in Los Angeles. 

According to an investigation by the BBC1 programme Panorama, being screened tonight, court papers filed in Los Angeles state: 'In late 2015 Mr Curry was taken surreptitiously to England by his wife Mary Curry and his son Kevin Curry and abandoned there.'

The mystery surrounding Mr Curry's identity led to numerous theories as to how he ended up in a Hereford car park. 

He appeared to have been well looked after and was dressed from head to toe in new clothes from Tesco.

As reported in the Mail last March, he was called Roger by staff caring for him after they heard him use the name Roger Curry. But police didn't know whether that was his real name or not.

The pensioner told doctors and care home staff he was not from the area and had been 'training' nearby, but said little else.

Police even contacted veterans' organisations in case Mr Curry was a former serviceman.

Last year Sergeant Sarah Bennett of West Mercia Police said: 'We have a possible name but we have nothing else.

'We have no identity documents, no indication of where he's from or any family. 

'We've trawled through the CCTV. We've also contacted the National Crime Agency. We've gone to Interpol.

'We've done a fingerprint search, we've done a DNA search and that hasn't yielded any results.'

However, the clue to his identity came following a police appeal on BBC Midlands in March last year. 

After watching the news report, viewer Debbie Cocker searched the internet and found an old picture that looked like a younger version of the unidentified man.

The photo came from a 1958 yearbook for Edmonds High School in Washington State and it showed an 18-year-old student called Roger Curry. 

Investigators then tracked down the Roger Curry pictured in the yearbook to a burnt-out house in an affluent suburb of Los Angeles.

After being shown photographs, neighbours identified the mystery man as Mr Curry – a former nurse who is married with two children.

They then told how his family had been hit by tragedy.

In November 2014 the family's house burnt down in the middle of the night.

Neighbours did not see them again until August 2015, when they found Mr Curry and his wife – who is also ill – camping out in the yard of their burnt-out house.

Their son Kevin had been bringing them food and they appeared to have been locked in behind the fence around the house.

Neighbour Zenia Leon told Panorama that emergency services were shocked by what they found. 

She claimed they overheard the couple discussing what had happened, and said of Mr and Mrs Curry: 'They were talking together and they said they were here the night the house burnt down.'

Miss Leon said Mr Curry was upset about his circumstances, adding: 'He was in tears. This is a big, burly macho man in tears saying, 'Who does this to their parents?'.'

Kevin Curry told Panorama, which is being screened at 8.30pm tonight, that he had nothing to do with the abandonment of his father in England.

He said his father became ill when they were visiting England on holiday and that he asked a friend to take him to hospital. 

But he could not explain why he had left Mr Curry in England for eight months without telling anyone who he was. 

Because of the high cost of care in America, elderly people are sometimes abandoned at hospitals in a practice called granny-dumping.

A man in his fifties from Taunton, Somerset, was arrested last April on suspicion of kidnapping Mr Curry. He is on police bail and has not been charged.

SOURCE: Jake Wallis Simons/ArthurMartin. Daily Mail

Care home costs for women almost double that of men’s

Their Women’s Risks in Life report shows that longer life expectancy, which has increased by four years in the last two decades, has resulted in higher and unpredictable costs of care for women in comparison to men.

Nearly two in three people aged over 80 are women, who will on average face 19 years of ill health, and need nearly three years of help carrying out basic tasks.

CII CEO, Sian Fisher, said: “Women today are left disproportionately exposed to risks that society is not overtly recognising. This is at the same time as historic support systems are receding. 

“We are moving from a dependence culture to one of independence, where we will have to be less reliant on our partners, families, communities and the state, and must take charge of our own financial welfare. Yet today’s women are simply unprepared for the risks that they will face in life.

“This is not just a women’s issue, it is a wider risk for society because if we don’t address it now, we will face a huge burden of care that we will not be able to sustain.”

It was also found that while women are more likely to have savings products, on average they accumulate five times less into their pension pots than the average man.

Despite the increasing likelihood that women will require expensive care in old age, it was found that 55% aged 30-39 have not thought how they will pay for this.

In addition, four in 10 of this age group were unaware of the government’s plans to cap care costs, and one in 10 thought that all care was covered by the state.

The Association of British Insurers (ABI), director general, Huw Evans, said: “This report is genuinely shocking in highlighting the significantly greater risks women face than their male counterparts. 

“This should be a call to action for government and the financial services sector alike to find meaningful and lasting solutions to the challenges women still face.”

The report suggests that the insurance industry should:

•Educate and raise awareness of the risks of not planning

•Provide equality-oriented solutions

•Engage with employers to develop new workplace risk solutions

•Improve the image of the profession, making it more appealing to women

ABI protection committee member, Johnny Timpson, said: “The industry needs to transform how we engage and support women appropriately, de-risk and protect their incomes, commitments, liabilities and lifestyles.

“A comprehensive strengthening of all women’s safety nets is needed through: access to careers that build wealth; increased financial literacy; improved product solutions; plus better infrastructure for raising children with or without a significant other.”

SOURCE: The Actuary, Chris Seekings

NHS whistleblowers still fear the 'finger of blame' despite repeated attempts to make the health service more honest about mistakes

Doctors and nurses are still not reporting mistakes because they fear the 'finger of blame', MPs warn today.Despite repeated attempts by ministers to make the NHS more honest, they say staff are unwilling to talk openly about errors.In a damning report, the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee warns that measures introduced to improve care and encourage staff to be more honest have not addressed the problems.Doctors and nurses are still not reporting mistakes because they fear the 'finger of blame', MPs warn todayThey included installing whistleblowing guardians at all hospitals with whom doctors and nurses could raise their concerns and were brought in following the 2013 report into the Mid Staffordshire scandal that linked hundreds of needless deaths of patients between 1995 and 2000 to a deep-rooted culture of fear.Tory MP Bernard Jenkin, chairman of the committee, described the failure as unacceptable. 'There is an acute need for the Government to follow through on its commitment to turn the NHS in England into a learning organisation; an organisation where staff can feel safe to identify mistakes and incidents without fearing the finger of blame,' he said. Last year, the Government went further by announcing the launch of the Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch, which will come into force in three months' time.It is intended to be an independent body similar to the Air Accident Investigations Branch which will take up the most serious mistakes in hospital.Crucially, any doctor or nurse who gives evidence to the branch will be protected from legal action, whilst the investigation is underway.If the body decides they weren't to blame, and it was the fault of the system, for example, they wont be sued.But if the doctor or nurse was deemed to be in the wrong they will be referred to their professional watchdog – and could still face legal action.Today's report warns that the branch does not have the powers to be fully independent, and therefore carry out proper investigations.Julie Mellor, Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman said: 'We know from our casework that families who complain to the NHS want lessons to be learnt so that future mistakes are avoided.
Last year, the Government went further by announcing the launch of the Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch, which will come into force in three months' time
'The NHS still has a long way to go to provide staff with the relevant skills to carry out fair, high-quality investigations into avoidable harm.
'The Government and NHS leaders must commit to providing training, national standards and accountability for the NHS, to make it safer for all.'
Previous research has found that up to 12,000 hospital deaths in the UK a year were unavoidable.

A Department of Health spokesman said it was introducing further measures to ensure the NHS becomes an organisation 'that learns from its mistakes' and added that it was committed to 'pursuing legislation' to strengthen the new HSIB.

SOURCE: Sophie Borland, Daily Mail

The Basics of Bedsore Treatment

Bedsores are an unfortunate fact of life when it comes to treating and caring for bedridden and ill family members, and even family members who are in wheelchairs.

Regardless of the specifics of your family member or loved one, there are several steps you can take to minimize the risk of bedsores developing, to treat Stage 1 pressure ulcers at home and to help avoid them in the future.

Basics Of Bedsores (Pressure Ulcers)

Bedsores are simple. Pressure on a specific area of tissue diminishes blood flow, and this decreased blood flow leads to cell death, as the lack of blood flow deprives the tissue of oxygen
A Stage 1 pressure ulcer typically presents in this manner: skin is discolored, but not broken, red and purple for light skin, white for dark skin—discolored and splotchy. No real tissue damage. First, ensure that pressure is removed from the affected area immediately. This will help prevent the ulcer from progressing further and prevent skin breakage. One of the most dangerous complications from pressure ulcers is the risk of infection.

Once pressure has been removed, you will want to go over the area with a mild soap and water rinse, then clean and dry it completely. Pressure ulcers create areas of very sensitive skin that are prone to shearing with very little force. Ensure that steps are taken to minimize friction on your loved one’s bed, such as powdering the sheets, and prevent unnecessary exposure to pressure. If not given the proper treatment bedsores can progress to later stages, each becoming more threatening and difficult to treat.Stage 3: The pressure ulcer takes on a cratered appearance, and may reach into the fat layer. There may also be some pus or other drainage.Stage 4: This stage of bedsore is extremely progressed and dangerous. It can involve muscles, tendons, and possibly bones and joints. A substance known as eschar—dead, sloughing skin that contains necrotic tissue—may slough off of the sore.Unstageable: While it’s rare in any patient being actively monitored, bedsores can progress past Stage 4, resulting in a full-thickness tissue loss where the injured area is completely covered with sloughed, dead skin and eschar, all the way down to the bone bed. These pressure ulcers will always require surgical excision and are not always treatable. If your loved one is suffering from an illness serious enough for them to be bedridden, you should already have a medical professional whom you are consulting about most of your care decisions, whether done personally or with a staff.

Risk factors include thin skin (or skin with reduced elasticity) bruises, scrapes or other surface injuries. These can all increase the risk of bedsores developing, making the elderly and infirm more at risk for these ulcers, especially when bedridden.

Basic Home Treatment Of Stage 1 Pressure Ulcers 

Stage 1 pressure ulcers are quite easy to treat, if they haven’t broken the skin, though consultation with a medical professional is recommended at first sign of a sore.

Remove Pressure With Frequent Repositioning

Stage 1 Bedsore

Constant repositioning helps ensure that no specific body part is under constant pressure, and has time to regain normal blood flow. When a loved one is in bed, they must (or you must help them) reposition themselves every one to two hours, at a minimum.

Bedside rails and other apparatuses can help your loved ones do this themselves. Consider installing one if they are going to be bedridden for a long time.

Adjusting the height and elevation of the bed can also be helpful, but elevations of 45 degrees or more put too much pressure on the tailbone—a high-risk area for pressure ulcers—and should be avoided.

You can also look into using an alternating pressure mattress pad that can lie on top of the mattress. These devices pump individual areas full of air and then release them, causing passive weight distribution by the body and helping to avoid pressure ulcers.

Keep the Area Clean

After that, you can consider moisturization, but should consult a doctor for recommended products.

Prevent Further Injury and Progression 

Clothing must always be kept clean, as well as bedsheets. These are best made of a 100 percent cotton jersey, which is breathable and absorbent.

This also includes managing incontinence. The liquids and bacteria present in urine and fecal matter are very dangerous to open pressure ulcers and risk infection.

Further Stages Of Bedsores

Stage 2: The skin has broken, and there may be some dead skin. There could also be a blistered area in the middle of some reddish-pink skin.

When to See a Medical Professional 

Specifically for pressure ulcers, medical professionals should be contacted if the ulcer ever breaks the skin; however, it is best practice to inform your doctor know at the very first sign of development. They may recommend simple at-home measures, but should always be informed of the state of your loved one, so that more drastic measures can be taken, if necessary.

SOURCE: homecaremag.com, Jessica Hegg

Diagnosed with dementia Kate Swaffer actively supports people suffering from the same ailment

“When my glass gets empty I fill it up again!” says Kate Swaffer, an author and advocate for living beyond dementia. “When someone knocks me down, I refer to myself as a skittle in a bowling alley – I just pop back up. Not immediately, but sooner or later.”

When it came to developing dementia in 2008, it was a matter of sooner – not later – for Kate who was preparing to celebrate her 50th birthday. “Being diagnosed with a younger onset dementia mid-life was a real shock,” she says. “I had no idea young people could get it, even though I had worked in dementia and aged care.”

Kate was diagnosed with early onset dementia at 49, a time when she was working full time, studying part time and taking care of her husband Peter (above) and two teenage boys. Pic Dean Martin

Kate’s first symptoms were a form of acquired dyslexia, “Which was confounding but easily compensated for initially,” she says. But it was her initial and enduring response to being diagnosed with dementia that has set Kate apart.

From the start she refused to be defeated and soon set about helping redefine the way the world views dementia. Her dedicated, volunteer work in the years since has led to improvements to the services and outcomes available to the 354,000 Australians who are currently diagnosed.

Kate has also completed three degrees since and is presently undertaking her PhD. Today, as Chair, CEO and Co-founder of Dementia Alliance International (DAI), she is a leading advocate for the 47.5 million people around the globe who live with dementia.

“I grew up on a farm on the Eyre Peninsula,” says Kate. “It was an existence that required resilience and certainly taught us how to overcome not having a lot of cash, and not having the conveniences we expect in the cities.”

It was in this environment Kate discovered she had a hard-wired compulsion to help others. “At school, I was involved in fundraising and this interest in volunteering has continued into my adult life,” she says. “I have volunteered for social justice issues, or in service to my community for a significant amount of time since school and have always had altruistic tendencies.”

Kate says the global response to the tens of millions of people with dementia (and there is a new diagnosis every 3.2 seconds) has been slow. “Including in Australia,” she says. “And only now is the World Health Organisation writing a Global Action Plan for Dementia.”

She considers the conclusion of the OECD – based on an exhaustive study of the world’s 38 richest countries – that dementia receives the worst care in the developed world to be “frankly, unacceptable.”

Change is needed, for example in the approach for all people diagnosed early in their dementia. “To maintain independence for as long as possible, and to stop promoting early dependence on families and then the health sector,” she says.

Kate says the health sector is currently still providing “late stage” management of dementia for people more often now being diagnosed in the earlier stages. “I may have been diagnosed with dementia,” says Kate, “but frankly there was no point taking on an assumed death that day.”

Indeed, she has instead assumed a role in helping everyone with dementia live a fulfilled life. “My goals are to actively support people diagnosed with dementia through our free online support groups, cafes and webinars, and to empower others diagnosed with dementia to live with it, and not just go home and die from it,” she says. “It is possible, and DAI is leading the way and proving it is possible. We have become the global voice of people with dementia and this is getting stronger.”

A world-changing force borne of the farmlands on the Eyre Peninsula: “If someone says it cannot be done, I am likely to give it a go,” says Kate. “Especially if I believe it needs doing, and even if initially I stand alone.”

CommBank have been proud partners of Australian of the Year Awards for over 37 years, celebrating and championing those who make our country a better place. The awards honour an extraordinary group of respected Australians, whose actions inspire conversation on issues of national importance.

SOURCE: News Corp Australia, Staff Writer