Carers zoom meeting – 25th May 2021

Lisa had a another meeting tonight so Keren very kindly ran the carers session.

Keren went around the group and asked everyone to introduce themselves and say what issues they have with their loved one. some interesting points were raised which are listed below:

• Family dynamics – this might be a future discussion in the coming weeks
• Andrew discussed about Carlton Court was having an open week soon.
• 2 people mentioned “cluster headaches”, there does not seem to be data on what these are.
• Someone mentioned that it would be good to have another seminar on “sleep”
• Fridges with locks was discussed as people living with dementia often ‘raid’ the fridge and eat food that is not safe for them. This alo applies to the bathroom with bleach, soap etc.
• A useful suggestion was made was always have a picture of a loved one on hand so it can be given out if they get lost if you were for example shopping.

Over the weekend Lisa had a number of calls from worried families that were unable to see their relatives who were ill in hospital, as they had dementia they were unable to communicate with nursing staff in the ward.

Lisa spoke to the Chipping Barnet MP Theresa Villiers who said she would bring up in parliament.

Two videos were shown, one of Theresa Villiers in Parliament today who was raised a question to the health ministers that people were not being allowed into hospital. The health minister is going to investigate..

The other video was one commissioned by the BBC Inside Out team about Dementia Club UK. It gave a good description about what Dementia Club UK does and as we “get back to normal” and start opening cafes again it allowed new members who only have been on zoom meetings to see what we do in the cafes.

Many thanks to Keren who took today’s carers session.