Sir Jackie Stewart explained his wife has virtually no memories because of dementia and says the effect of dementia on families is “horrendous”.  His wife was diagnosed with frontal lobe dementia in 2014 and now needs round the clock care from a team of nurses  at home. Sir Jackie set up a charity “Race Against Dementia” last year.  He and his wife live on the shores of Lake Geneva which has hi-tec equipment installed to prevent his wife falling in the night and detecting when she gets up.  He told the BBC that whilst diseases such as cancer get the attention dementia has a horrendous effect on the family.

He explained how his wife was a bright lady, in the past recording his lap times.  However, after a 2104 car crash she was diagnosed with dementia and since has struggled to walk and requires constant help.  He said, the other day someone who was just 39 years old was diagnosed with dementia so we have to do something about it, and the only way is through research.  He was speaking before a visit to Larkhill Circuit a series of kart races next month in aid of “Race Against Dementia”.  Dementia affects millions with a diagnosis every three seconds and in future it maybe one in three of us gets dementia.

Independent Living Owner (Mark Booker) commented, “as a care company we are noticing a rise of people with dementia.  As Sir Jackie states we both need to find a cure but also help those families who cannot afford the round the clock care.  A cure is vital and dementia is just as important as other high profile diseases such as cancer.”

Parkinsons could be identified decades earlier following a recent breakthrough.  The disease has symptoms such as tremors, and memory loss as a result of falling levels of dopamine, a chemical that transmits signals between the brain and body.  However, it is now believed that reduced levels of another chemical messenger serotonin is also important. It is believed that if people have reduced levels of serotonin in their 20s they are virtually certain to develop Parkinsons in their 50s/60s.  The belief is that if Parkinsons is detected much earlier then treatments can be put in place decades earlier.

Independent Living Owner (Mark Booker) commented “we have offered care for Parkinsons since we started providing home care back in 2011.  Because the number of cases of Alzheimers/Memory Loss is much higher than Parkinsons it gets much more media attention.  However, from our experience Parkinsons is also widespread and despite many people knowing about the tremors it is much more.  Parkinsons can affect speech, swallowing, stiff muscles, low mood, disturbed sleep and freezing.  People with Parkinsons often require a lot of home care to support them.  We are pleased to here progress is being made into finding treatments for sufferers much earlier.”

The head of the NHS Dementia strategy has warned the organisation cannot keep up as cases surge.  Around 454,000 people aged over 65 in England have had a formal diagnosis, and this represents a 7% increase over 3 years.  This is due to an ageing population and their is no cure.  However, if cases are spotted early people can be better supported.  Alzheimers Research UK sates the disease costs £26 billion a year.  However, many cases remain undiagnosed and this could be as high as 220,000 additional people.  Within a decade one in five people will be aged over 65 and inevitably this will cause dementia  cases to rise.  The high levels of dementia will cause the biggest crisis in social care in our time according to Jeremy Hughes the Chief Executive of the Alzhiemers Society.

At present a cure remains elusive with many test drugs failing their clinical trials.  The best defence at present is simply to have a good diet, no smoking, sleeping well and exercising.

Mark Booker (Independent Living) commented “we care for a large number of older people in the Chorley, Leyland and Parbold area.  We are often told our customers are a bit forgetful, or that they have dementia but haven’t had a formal memory test.  So clearly whilst the headline dementia figures demonstrate the problem behind these figures are a much higher number of people who need care.  Dementia is hard for the home care industry because whilst people can live at home without problems at some point the may deteriorate and making a decision as to whether they are, or are not safe at home is very difficult”.

Last week I watched “Panorama” on BBC1 which investigated the state of the care industry.  Sometimes when you see programmes on TV or read articles in the newspaper about your industry, i.e care,  it is clear that the content is produced by people who don’t really understand the care industry.  In many case they resort to the lazy cliched stories – usually about carers abusing older people, or care homes falling below standard!

However, the Panorama programme really did focus on the issues the care industry.  They interviewed a range of people from care business owners like myself through to care staff, customers, customers families and those running social services.  Generally speaking they avoided the usual “blame game”.  I felt the programme highlighted the “perfect storm” – people over 80 years old will double in 20 years but no-one really knows how the care will be funded or delivered.  At the present time record employment levels not seen since 1975 are great but for the care sector it means a chronic staff shortage.  Usually this is dealt with by raising wages to attract/retain care staff (they deserve a decent wage) but if those paying for the service don’t raise hourly care rates better wages cannot be paid for.  As a result we are seeing care homes close, care companies giving rural packages back because they cannot even cover costs- at a time when care need are exploding – its madness!

My own “bug bear” is BREXIT, I don’t have strong views on Europe but it does seem it has caused us to stop thinking about anything else.  I am completely mystified as to why we cannot get a Care Green Paper published on the future on care because of BREXIT!  London has an army of civil servants.  I think in a few years time we will look back and realise 4 years on BREXIT debate has stopped the county moving forward in other ways – care, transport, education, business support etc.

The upshot of all this – we need the Government to invest the time in working out how care will be provided to our growing elderly population.  If we do not we will be in a position where we have more need and fewer care delivers.

Elderly patients stuck in hospital beds age the equivalent of ten years in just ten days through inactivity the new medical director of the NHS has said.  Stephen Powis said it is essential that community services are improved so that pensioners are not kept unnecessarily on wards.  Professor Powis said that there are over half a million more people aged over 75 than in 2010 and there will be a further 2 million more in ten years time.  Whilst people get older they often spend more time with ill health.  Andrew Travers the chief executive of Lambeth Council warned that the health service crisis could become an all year round event due to a lack of social care.  Health Secretary (Jeremy Hunt) stated Winter 2017/18 was probably the worst on record.

Mark Booker (Independent Living Chorley & Leyland) commented “we are all emotionally attached to the NHS and more funding is popular with the public.  Less fashionable is social care but what people need to understand is that if social care is not properly funded no matter how well the NHS performs people who need support at home will not be able to leave hospital yet it is proven that staying in hospital beyond medical need is both expensive and not good for the patient.  Therefore social care funding is just as important as NHS funds.”

Sir Ian Wilmut cloned “Dolly the Sheep” in 1986 which opened the way for stem cell research and treatments for Parkinsons.  Now the 73 year old has been diagnosed with Parkinsons himself but he has also become a patron of a new research programme which will try new therapies that aim to slow the progression of the disease.  Sir Ian realised something was wrong weeks ago when he walked the dog and became “stuck”.  The new research programme is aimed at potential tissue repair and clinical trials are due to start in Japan this year.

Parkinsons is a progressive loss of neurons which release dopamine needed for movement.  Symptoms include: trembling, pain and depression.  It affects 1 in every 500 people which is around 127,000 in the UK.  Most suffers are aged over 50.

Independent Living owner (Mark Booker) stated “we hear a great deal about memory loss and in particular Alzheimers because with an ageing population the numbers affected are massive.  Having said this it does not mean diseases such as Parkinsons should be neglected, it is a disease that affects our older population and is something which is expected to increase.  At Independent Living we find the some of our clients have both Parkinsons and memory loss, the link between the two is well known”.

We have specialised on helping people with Parkinsons for many years now, if we can help please call our office on 01257 696 050.

On Sunday 8th July St Catherines Hospice are organising the “Bay walk Challenge” a famous 8 mile walk around Morecambe Bay.  Head of Community Engagement at St Catherines (Emma Jacovelli) stated the walk is a great day out , it is not too strenuous but does go through soft sands and you can be knee deep in water.  To join costs £10 per adult and £5 per child, and a return coach is available at a price of £10 per person.

Independent Living owner (Mark Booker) commented “we help people with cancer and have a great relationship with St Catherines Hospice.  We look after people who are terminally ill in particular often in the final few weeks of their lives.  Whilst this is of course difficult area of work it is one of the most rewarding, helping terminally ill people takes a  great deal of pressure off other family members.  This area of work is where we receive the most “thank you” cards”.

Mark goes on to comment “many people think that St Catherines is totally funded by the NHS.  The reality is though is that it is costs a great deal of funding to keep the facility going but they do not get NHS funding and rely on funding and donations from the public.  As St Catherines reputation grows more people are choosing their services.  In addition their services are growing, for example they now help people in their own homes and this also requires funding.  We urge people to support St Catherines so they can continue helping local families”

More about the walk 01772 629171  or www.stcatherines.co.uk

A new centre was officially opened on the 27th April at Chorley and South Ribble Hospital.  The LIFE centre is a flagship project which is designed to promote careers in the NHS.  The unit has a mocked up ward, a mobile education unit, a dummy A&E and e-ray room.  The aim is to show students what it is really like to work in the NHS in a variety of roles.  It will be used by local students but also available from people further afield.  Jackie Higham the “Widening Participation Manager” stated “the aim of this facility is to highlight the importance of careers in the health sector and the NHS”.

Independent Living Care Manager (Amanda Singleton) stated “it is great that we have this facility in Chorley.  We are finding that in both care and health it is becoming harder to recruit people.  For whatever reason at present it seems difficult to attract new employees and we are all hearing about the deficit of care care and the number of unfilled vacancies in the NHS.  Showing young people what it is like to work in the sector and the range of jobs available can only be a good thing”.

Chorley’s town hall clock tower was lit up in blue to mark World Parkinson’s Day on the 11th April, 2018.  It is 200 years since James Parkinson identified the disease he named as “shaking palsy”.  It is believed 145,000 people in the UK have been diagnosed with the disease.  Chorley has a Parkinson’s Group which meets at 2pm on the first Tuesday of the month at Tatton Community Centre.

The group has a regular speaker and members of the group visit places of interest and complete helpful exercises.  Parkinsons affect the central nervous system and early symptoms include shaking, rigidity, slowness of movement and difficulty walking.

Independent Living Owner (Mark Booker) commented “when I started the home care business in 2011 we looked after a gentleman with quite advanced Parkinsons who had pioneering brain surgery to control his tremors.  As a result I became interested in the disease and we cared for a number of people with the disease.  We found that a person with Parkinsons would find their condition varying throughout the day with the afternoons usually better.  People with Parkinsons have to take their medication at a certain time and for a home care company timing the care visits was crucial”.

Mark also commented “we hear so much today about memory loss and Alzheimers because of the large number of people with the disease but Parkinsons also affects a great many people (100,000+) so it is great that it is also getting good publicity – we welcome “World Parkinson’s Day”

According to MPs more Councils and Developers should build bungalows because of their “endearing popularity among older people”.  There is a current shortfall of accessible and specialist homes which limits the housing options for older people.

An idea rejected is the reduction of stamp duty for older people moving but MPs said a national strategy is needed because the number of people over 85 will double in just 25 years.  Surveys show that high numbers of older people would move to bungalows if they were available.  A key problem in many places is that the price of land is so high it is impossible to make bungalows financially viable.

MPs also stated that new homes should be “age proofed” so older people can remain at home, all research shows people want to stay at home for as long as is practical.  It was also felt that the reason older people do not move to more suitable property is not just financial but also for emotional and practical reasons.  The National Pensioners’ Convention said it was unfair to blame older people for not moving which has recently been blamed for the lack of homes for families.

Independent Living Owner (Mark Booker) commented “we have provided care for people in their own home for 6 years now and all the feedback suggests that is where older people want to stay.  A care home is seen as a last resort when people can no longer cope alone.  More bungalows would be useful because older people have mobility issues and having a bathroom etc on the ground floor is a much better option.  We also note that when people get to a certain age they do not want the upheaval of moving even if their own home is no longer ideal.”