Dementia Care
In Milton Keynes, it is estimated that there are over 2,000 people living with dementia currently and these figures are only expected to rise.
Dementia affects someone both psychologically and physically. This means that individuals who are living with dementia need long term love and care, as well as patience. Understanding dementia symptoms can be difficult, even for the family members of the person. As symptoms progress, the care needs of the person with dementia will increase.
What is Dementia?
Dementia is an “umbrella” term that describes a range of symptoms that are caused by diseases and disorders affecting the brain. Dementia is not one disease.
What are the early symptoms of Dementia?
The early signs of dementia, include some of the following:
- Memory loss – which is usually in relation to short term memory
- Communication and language difficulties – this could be struggling to find the right words, or finding it hard to stay on track in a conversation
- Depression and anxiety– or other unusual changes in mood or behaviour
- Disorientation– to time and place
- Poor or decreased judgement
- Misplacing things
- Difficulty performing familiar everyday tasks
- Struggling with concentration and mental agility
- Difficulties with images and spatial awareness
These symptoms usually start mildly, but due to the progressive nature of dementia they will become more severe over time. It is important that you ask for help to manage them as they progress, don’t struggle on your own.
Why care for someone with Dementia at home?
There are dementia care homes in Milton Keynes that can look after your loved one, but we think home care is the best option for someone living with dementia. With home care your loved one can stay in familiar and comforting surroundings, which can help in a number of ways:
- Limit disorientation – surroundings and people are familiar, making it easier to stay orientated
- Help with mood and behaviour – EMI care homes can be noisy at times, which can be distressing for someone with dementia and can impact upon their own mood and behaviour
- Allows them to stay with their pets – pets are comforting and they can bring a sense of familiarity and reassurance
- May help with memory – being around their own belongings, in an environment where they have made happy memories previously, could help with memory prompting and recall
- Keeps the person at home with their family- home care allows the family relationships to continue and doesn’t isolate the person living with dementia by surrounding them with people they don’t know or recognise
By keeping routines and environment the same, it will help to make life less daunting and anxiety provoking for someone who’s living with dementia. This is why so many families are turning to home care, in the place of traditional residential care.
Our approach to Dementia care
We appreciate that caring for someone with dementia at home can be challenging. Knowing how to respond to behaviours and situations caused by dementia, can be distressing and confusing. Families naturally want to provide the best possible care – but there can come a point where the level of dementia care needed, is more than you as a family are able to give.
That’s where we come in.
We can work alongside you to provide individual, person centred care for your loved one with dementia. This may be 24-hour live in care, helping with daily activities and routines for just a couple of hours, or providing respite for you as a carer on a monthly basis.
Our approach is to understand the person with dementia from their point of view, to give them the personalised care that they deserve. Our team is highly dedicated and trained in dealing with dementia and the challenges dementia can bring. Part of each and every carer’s mandatory training is dementia awareness, helping them to effectively support people with dementia, and their families.
A concern many families have is that they can’t afford to pay for private care for a loved one with dementia. There is government help available when paying for dementia care. So, if this is holding you back from accessing services please visit our cost of care page to find out more.
If you have any further questions about our dementia care services, call us on
01908 380 600.
As a quality care provider, we encourage and highly recommend that everyone has an Advance Care Plan in place.
An Advance Care Plan allows you to record your wishes and decisions in advance. This will be in relation to your care, types of medical treatment that you would wish or not wish to receive and anything else that is important to you as an individual. If you are ever in a situation where you are unable to make decisions for yourself, having an advance care plan in place will give both you and your loved ones peace of mind that your wishes will be respected, wherever possible.
To find out more about what an Advance care plan is and how to make one, please visit our understanding advance care planning & power of attorney page.
Support for Dementia carers
If you are currently caring for a loved one with dementia, it is vital that you access further help, support and advice. Being the primary carer for someone with any illness or disorder can take a lot out of you, but due to the mood and behavioural changes that occur in a person with dementia, it can become exhausting over time. Having a support network can really help you to to feel less alone and help to provide somewhere to turn, when things feel particularly tough.
For further information, support and advice on different types of dementia and how you can get involved with fundraising and research, see our useful links below.