A couple of interesting news items from the world of dementia care showing the importance of the physical for general health and for dementia patients to retain communication and autonomy.
Firstly, in south-west France a physical instructor, Patrice Labaye, is to deliver specialised sessions for people with dementia. He explains his motivations as helping the participants to develop alternative forms of communication, verbal or not, to help them remain as autonomous as possible within their everyday existences. Such a simple foundation, but one which at least in this corner of France is being translated into real provision of opportunities for people with dementia. http://bit.ly/diHyrz
Secondly, in Mumbai's only day centre for people with dementia, a daily programme includes yoga, music and pets in its everyday practice and care. As well as this kind of provision, the centre is designed to reflect the realities of the lives of families caring for people with dementia by looking after the elderly during the day to allow their families to continue to work. http://bit.ly/9cSAlW
Although in both contexts such care is certainly not available to everyone with need, they present a very different social and care context than that available to my mother for example. Our options revolve around my either working and my mother living in residential care, or my giving up work to become a full-time carer for my mother which is simply not a possibility. Further, I have been arguing now for 18 months that physiotherapy would be helpful for my mother but this is not available within her package of care. Apparently the multi-disciplinary team 'leading' on my mother's care do not consider this a fundamental for any aspect of her health - physical, mental or cognitive.... For the moment, for my mother and many others like her in the UK, such stories remain so far removed from not just the daily realities of her care but also the framework in which that care is considered that they might as wel be mythical tales from a non-existent Nirvana.
Firstly, in south-west France a physical instructor, Patrice Labaye, is to deliver specialised sessions for people with dementia. He explains his motivations as helping the participants to develop alternative forms of communication, verbal or not, to help them remain as autonomous as possible within their everyday existences. Such a simple foundation, but one which at least in this corner of France is being translated into real provision of opportunities for people with dementia. http://bit.ly/diHyrz
Secondly, in Mumbai's only day centre for people with dementia, a daily programme includes yoga, music and pets in its everyday practice and care. As well as this kind of provision, the centre is designed to reflect the realities of the lives of families caring for people with dementia by looking after the elderly during the day to allow their families to continue to work. http://bit.ly/9cSAlW
Although in both contexts such care is certainly not available to everyone with need, they present a very different social and care context than that available to my mother for example. Our options revolve around my either working and my mother living in residential care, or my giving up work to become a full-time carer for my mother which is simply not a possibility. Further, I have been arguing now for 18 months that physiotherapy would be helpful for my mother but this is not available within her package of care. Apparently the multi-disciplinary team 'leading' on my mother's care do not consider this a fundamental for any aspect of her health - physical, mental or cognitive.... For the moment, for my mother and many others like her in the UK, such stories remain so far removed from not just the daily realities of her care but also the framework in which that care is considered that they might as wel be mythical tales from a non-existent Nirvana.
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