Beti George's words

These are Beti George's words

"David was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s 6 years ago and I’m his sole carer.

Apart from the first two and a half  yrs, when he took part in a new drug trial, we’ve had no support at all.

I’m lucky in that most of the time he’s contented and still has a great sense of humour.

He was always gregarious and loved to socialise. He still does and nothing pleases him more than when people call to see him and keep him company

There are however, “bad days” - and that is when I would appreciate being able to call on a “support worker” who has been dementia trained of course.

There needs to be a revolution in dementia care. In every community there should be a bank of carers properly trained in caring for people with dementia, so that someone like me can call upon when in a crisis. It’s only those who live 24/7 with someone with dementia who can really appreciate what “crisis” means in this context. It really leads to despair and the feeling of utter isolation.

The Welsh Government emphasises their vision of “care in the community.”

All well and good but it means nothing unless support is at hand.

I’m appalled at the lack of proper dementia training there is among professionals working with older people in the community.

Yes, there is a dire need for more training facilities and DUETcare aims to address this through offering a humane approach to caring by understanding what the person with dementia is experiencing and how to connect with the person."

I hear people everyday with similar sentiments to Beti, people need support, care and understanding in their communities. We also need to listen to the voices of those who have a diagnosis of dementia as well as their loved ones. Often those voices get ignored because it can take time, patience and skill to understand what is being said as the dementia can affect those very parts of us.

 DUETcare aims to provide people with the knowledge, skills and values  to maintain a connection through finding creative ways of communication.

 

Please consider a small pledge to make this happen: we have until 20th November 2015

Thanks Jane

 

https://crowdfunding.justgiving.com/jane-mullins

http://bit.ly/1PNY9K6