Tamworth Memory Cafe to provide place for people impacted by dementia

A NEW cafe project is set to open next month to help more people and their families living with dementia.

The 'Memory Cafe' is being organised by Home Instead Senior Care, who have been supporting people to stay independent within their own homes for the last seven years in the Tamworth area. The team recently opened a new office in Offa House and are passionate about caring and supporting people living with dementia.

The cafe is set to be opened on May 2, in partnership with The Heart of Tamworth Community Project at St Johns Church.

Sally Clough, Director of Home Instead Senior Care, said: "A Memory Cafe is a friendly place to meet for people with memory loss and their carers or loved ones. It's somewhere to laugh, share concerns, talk openly without being judged, discuss dementia with experts and others a similar situation.

"The social side is the most important aspect of the cafe, it's an opportunity to engage, maintain skills, keep an active mind by being stimulated by the environment, meet new friends and have a sense of belonging.

For those that support a person living with dementia it's a chance to get a few hours of respite, support from experts to learn how best to continue to meet the needs of their loved one and help manage the behaviours.

SOURCE: Tamworth Herald, Sam Jones

Trying to avoid care home fees? Think twice, consumers told

Care from the NHS is free, but if you need social care because you're physically or mentally frail, you have to pay for it yourself.

And it is not cheap.

The latest figures show a place in a residential care home in the UK costs, on average, more than £30,000 a year. A nursing home costs more than £40,000 a year. In the South East, it is £10,000 a year more than that, according to consultants LaingBuisson.

There is financial help from local authorities, but it is strictly means-tested.

You only qualify if your home, savings and investments are together worth less than £23,250.

If you are worth more than that, you have to pay the full cost of your care - during your lifetime and, if necessary, from your estate after you have died.

It may not leave much for your family to inherit.

Which is why marketing leaflets from a will-writing firm called Universal Wealth Preservation are eye-catching.

The leaflet claims that 45,000 families are forced to sell their homes every year, to pay for care.

'He thought it was a good thing'

In 2015, one of Universal's leaflets dropped through the letterbox of retired teachers Susan and Don Steer. Don had just been diagnosed with a terminal cancer.

Since the Steers owned their home near Hull outright, and had savings as well, they would not qualify for council support.

"Don thought that if he had to go into a care home or nursing home that we would have to pay and we could lose the house," Susan recalls. "Universal said they could protect the house from care home fees, and he thought that would be a good thing to do."

So, after a home consultation with a Universal representative, the Steers signed up, paying Universal a fee of almost £4,000.

he was told she wouldn't need to sell her house

Universal's scheme works by transferring the ownership of assets like a home or savings into what it calls a "Wealth Preservation Trust".

Trusts are legal devices designed to hold assets on behalf of named beneficiaries - often children.

With a trust owning the assets, the theory is those assets will no longer be counted in the means test. That should make it more likely that the individual will qualify for local authority help.

But there's a big catch.

Trusts

According to Bridgette Shilton, chair of the National Association of Financial Assessment Officers, if avoiding care fees is a substantial motive for putting assets into a trust, then a local authority can challenge it as "deliberate deprivation".

"If people are trying to protect their house in the avoidance of care fees then that's not allowed; that is a clear deprivation of assets. It doesn't work," Ms Shilton says.

"As soon as we find out a property has been transferred we will be looking into the motivation, we will be asking questions."

If trusts are genuinely set up for reasons other than avoiding care fees, Mary Butler, the senior partner of solicitors Bell Buxton, says they may succeed in avoiding care fees as well.

"I'm not saying that these products would not in certain circumstances work, if you were seeking to part with ownership of a property when you're fit and healthy, when there's no prospect whatever that you're going to go into a home."

But with the financial squeeze on local authorities growing, Mary Butler says, it's getting harder to slip such trusts under the radar.

"We've got a social care crisis on our hands now, a local authority funding crisis, so they're using every possible means to get money in. The people who are looking at these forms are wise to the stunts that people pull."

Don Steer died last year. He never did pay care fees because his treatment was covered by the NHS.

Care cap

Universal says its representative wasn't told the Steers' main goal was protecting the family home from care fees. It says it wasn't told that Don's cancer was terminal and would have provided different advice if it had been.

Surprisingly, while care fee protection is prominent on Universal's marketing fliers, the company told the BBC: "We deny that we offer strategies to avoid paying care fees."

We wanted to explore what lies behind this apparent contradiction, but Universal did not take up the BBC's offer of an interview.

Potential customers might therefore be wise to ask searching questions of their own, or to take advice from a solicitor before signing up.

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Universal is one of a number of firms offering such services. Almost all are unregulated, so customers have nowhere to complain if things go wrong.

In 2013, Chris Grayling, then Lord Chancellor, turned down a recommendation from the legal industry and consumer groups that will-writing should be regulated.

And the government has delayed the introduction of a £72,000 cap on the amount anyone has to pay towards their care. Originally scheduled for April last year, it's now postponed to April 2020.

Financial catastrophe

Economist Andrew Dilnot, the chair of the commission that first proposed the care fee cap in 2011, says a cap would remove the fear generated by a means test he describes as the "most pernicious" in Britain.

He says a £72,000 cap would also reduce the incentive for people to try to avoid paying them altogether.

"If we could get the cap in place, the worst case is that you'd be liable up to the cap. So you're taking away the catastrophic element and I think then the avoidance industry would find things much tougher."

Removal of the fear of the financial catastrophe would also reduce the moral dilemma care fees now pose for people like Susan Steer.

"I'm torn about what I feel," she says. "I don't like the rule about having to sell to pay for care home fees. On the other hand, I've got socialist views so it sounds ludicrous, but it's human nature to not want to sell the house."

SOURCE: BBC News, Michael Robinson

Care home praised for 'invaluable contributions' to Emmerdale's dementia storyline

For almost two years, MHA (Methodist Homes) have been advising ITV’s long-running Emmerdale show on its storyline involving village vicar, Ashley Thomas, developing dementia.

The storyline, which has also been conceived and produced with support from Alzheimer’s Society, has been lauded by fans and critics alike for its accuracy and realism.
Emmerdale’s series producer, Iain McLeod, said: "MHA’s expertise in the field of caring for people who are living with dementia has been invaluable to us. They help and support people like Ashley and his family every day through their work.

"It is such a sensitive subject and something that is close to people’s day-to-day experiences as so many hundreds of thousands of people and their families live with it.
"Being able to discuss developments in Ashley’s story with Kate and the team at MHA, right through to their comments on scripts and what characters say and how they are behaving, has really helped us get it right."
The Emmerdale production team have been working with Glen Rosa care home in Ilkley Road, where actors John Middleton, who plays Ashley, and Charlotte Bellamy, who plays his wife Laurel, have been meeting with residents and family members.

The care home visits have informed ITV’s realistic depiction of the progression of Ashley’s dementia and captured how the condition can affect family members and friends.
Last year, viewers watched the emotional storyline unfold, which saw the former vicar diagnosed with stroke related early onset vascular dementia. Over recent months they have seen his condition steadily worsen.
In December, an entire episode was filmed through Ashley’s eyes, letting viewers in on his distorted view of the world.
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The 63-year-old actor hopes the heartbreaking climax to the story will help change people’s attitudes towards dementia.
He said: “We have been very aware that there had to be an immense amount of integrity to the telling of the story. We absolutely needed MHA’s support and their knowledge and the way in which they could introduce us to people who could tell us their stories.
"As I started researching vascular dementia, I thought we had a huge responsibility to get it right. A lot of people have first-hand experience and awareness of dementia so meeting people with dementia and their carers has been vital.
"The way in which we have told the story is quite challenging but we are hoping to give at least something of an insight into what the world is like for someone living with dementia."
Regional director at MHA, Linda Zaidi, added: "For us, it’s been about using our expertise in the field of dementia care to make sure that they get the storyline as accurate as possible, from Ashley’s diagnosis through to his admission to a care home and his eventual death.
"We have been impressed by Emmerdale’s research and dedication to making sure the storyline about Ashley developing dementia and the effect it has on his loved ones has been realistic.

"What has also been great was the courage of ITV to screen such a storyline and tackle the issues that come with it."

SOURCE: carehome.co.uk, Melissa McAlees

Elderly home care scheme is likely to be means-tested

Older people are likely to undergo a means test and pay a significant out-of-pocket payment towards home care under the first statutory scheme to be introduced here.

The public will be able to say how much they can pay and what they want from a scheme which would guarantee a minimum level of home care.

A report into the review by the Health Research Board is being published by Minister for Older People Helen McEntee today.

However, the report reveals how statutory schemes, which support older people to live out their lives in their own homes, are under growing pressure in other countries. They are having to charge more for the service.

The analysis by the Health Research Board comes in the wake of ongoing dissatisfaction with the lottery faced by thousands of older people who cannot get a HSE home care package and are ending up in nursing homes.

More than 5,200 elderly are on waiting lists for a home care package, home help or some other form of support to allow them remain their own homes.

Currently all HSE home care packages are provided free, without a means test, after an older person's needs are assessed.

But the demands for these packages are growing as the population ages and many elderly are left struggling.

Today's report, commissioned as a first step in the process by the Department of Health, provides a stark insight into the cost of statutory home care schemes in Scotland, Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden.

The report reveals:

·    People in Germany and the Netherlands are paying compulsory long-term care insurance and are also liable for means-adjusted co-payments.

·    In Scotland the threshold for access to professional home care has been raised and only people with the highest level of needs are cared for.

·    People are given personal budgets to control costs.

The report said that the needs of the older person, rather than ability to pay, is an underlying principle in all countries and they have a formal system of assessing this.

However, "Scotland and Sweden have a long standing rights-oriented home care services sector which is increasingly rationed by stricter eligibility criteria."

Ireland will also have to foot the bill for the regulation of home care services which currently are not subject to any inspection for quality and safety.

The minister told the Irish Independent: "My priority is to ensure that our older people get the best care possible.

"For many that is long-term nursing home care, but for others that care can be provided in their own homes, surrounded by the people and communities that they love.

"Unfortunately, as a country, the only statutory scheme we have in place at present to care for our elderly is the Nursing Homes Support Scheme, 'a Fair Deal'. I am determined to change this and to establish a new statutory homecare scheme.

"Homecare is an increasingly important part of the supports we offer to older people.

"It is estimated that about 20pc of the over 65 population receive some form of community-based support service annually from the State.

"The publication of the findings of the review by the Health Research Board is an important step in the process, currently underway in the Department of Health.

"Work is under way to determine what type of home care scheme is best in relation to both regulation and funding.

"I am committed to progressing this, as a priority. The development of the scheme is complex. We need to get it right."

SOURCE: Irish News, Eilish O’Regan

Nine-year-old Emmerdale star Alfie Clarke is raising money for Alzheimer’s care with sponsored swim after acting in dementia storyline

Young Emmerdale star Alfie Clarke, who plays Ashley and Laurel Thomas’ son Arthur in the soap, is raising money for the Alzheimer’s Society by doing a sponsored swim of up to 40 lengths after playing a huge part in the show’s emotional dementia storyline. 

The 9-year-old star has been delivering agonising performances as Ashley’s young son, breaking the hearts of viewers as he maturely deals with his father’s condition. In scenes broadcast last year, he left viewers devastated when he asked Ashley if he would forget him.

He is just as fantastic in Ashley’s final episode, which Metro.co.uk were invited to watch and he has become so involved with the subject matter that he is now determined to raise funds for the good cause through his sponsored swim.

He is already on the way to smashing the £700.00 mark and his sponsor page reads: ‘I play Arthur Thomas in Emmerdale and I’ve been involved with the story line around the Thomas Family dealing with Ashley’s dementia. I would like to promote and raise money for Alzheimer’s Society.

‘On Saturday the 29th of April 2017 @ 10am, I’m going to swim between 20-40 lengths and would really appreciate it if you would sponsor me to support people suffering with dementia.’

Enthusing about her on screen son, Charlotte Bellamy told us: ‘Little Alfie is just extraordinary. He’s been in the show since he was two and a half and he’s come on so much. The way he handled that last scene where he saw John – who did obviously look dead and he has a real relationship with John – that was very hard for him but he did it so well.’

A spokesperson for the Alzheimer’s Society, Kathryn Smith, who attended the press conference, added: ‘His mum has been in contact with us because he is looking to do a sponsored swim for Alzheimer’s. He wants to also train to be a dementia friend himself and take that into his school. he and his mum both told me that he is now preaching to the family on dementia – I’ve only met him once but he really is quite a character and an amazing lad.’

John Middleton, who plays Ashley, revealed that he will be staying in touch with Alfie and continued: ‘He’s a real credit to his mum and dad – he’s incredibly well brought up and he’s a lovely, lovely lad. None of this has gone to his head and it can do as a child. Rosie Bentham, who plays Gabby, is the same – she’s a lovely young woman. The pair of them – I’m so proud of how they have come on as actors. They’ve developed so brilliantly.

‘Little Alfie sometimes just says “do you want us to ad-lib” and we’ll say “yes, go for it” and so he does and we think “bloody hell, I wish we’d written this down!” He’s really good, he’s a natural and instinctive actor and he really listens too. Most children just work on the line – you watch his reactions though to when others are acting, they’re just magical.’

Adding to the anecdotes, producer Iain MacLeod recalled: ‘At one point he just came out with “I think I want to be an actor!” He’s been doing a flipping good job with that anyway without having even decided to do it but I just found it really endearing how he is knocking everyone’s socks off and he is only really now deciding that he is actually quite good at this and might pursue it as a career!’

SOURCE: Duncan Lindsay, Metro.co.uk

Woman, 92, in hospital for year over lack of home care

The charity that supports older people to age at home has called on the Government to increase home help hours in line with demand.

Alone chief executive, Sean Moynihan, said the number of home help hours had been cut by 1.58m since 2010, but over that time, the number of older people in the state had increased by 18%.

The elderly woman, who broke her pelvis, has been cleared by her doctors to go home but they did not want to discharge her until a home care package was in place.

“This case is a clear example of how the system is failing our older people,” said Mr Moynihan.

The woman from South Mayo has been a patient at Mayo University Hospital for almost 300 days. Her home care package has been approved, but there is no funding available.

The HSE said the Galway, Mayo and Roscommon area had been providing home care supports “in excess of the funded levels of service.”

The health authority said it was now required to bring the level of service and expenditure back “into equilibrium” with allocated budgets.

Mr Moynihan said it made economic sense to provide the elderly woman with the home help she needed.

“A home care package would only cost around €400 a week while keeping this lady in hospital, taking up an acute bed, is costing €7,000 a week,” he said.

The HSE said all home care applications are considered by the Home Care Fora, which included representatives from older people services and nursing.

“The allocation of care is focussed on prioritised cases within available resources,” it pointed out.

The woman’s daughter, who does not want to be identified, said because she was working, she would have to get a loan to pay around €600 a week for a private nurse to care for her mother. She said her mother was receiving the best of care at the hospital, but all she wanted was to be in her home again, and was finding it difficult to keep her spirits up.

Independent councillor Michael Kilcoyne blamed “pure Leprechaun economics” for the elderly woman’s plight.

“How far are we away from the point where the hospital budget is spent, and people who are dying are left outside,” he asked.

“I am appalled that this is happening in the Taoiseach’s constituency, and there is no public outcry about it.

“This woman wants to go home. This is terrible, unbelievable. We have four TDs in Mayo and five senators. Of the four TDs, two are in government, and the other two are supporting that government. I am also saying to Fianna Fáil TDs in this constituency — have they confidence in the kind of government that is allowing this to happen?”

SOURCE:Irish Examiner, Evelyn Ring

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