Dementia Friendly Barnton & Cramond

I love a good brainstorm, a flip chart and some post-it notes. It must be something to do with longstanding love of stationary! More than that I got really excited at the ideas generated during the first dementia friendly Barnton & Cramond forum meeting held in February. 

The Dementia friendly forum has come about to try make the community of Barnton and Cramond a a dementia friendly environment. This means making our community a place: 

• In which it is possible for the greatest number of people with dementia to live a good life.
• Where people with dementia are enabled to live as independently as possible and to continue to be part of their community
• Where they are met with understanding  and given support where necessary

The first meeting was really well attended by members of our community representing all backgrounds from health to business, carers to the council. Our wee community will be one of the pilots for making Edinburgh's a dementia friendly city.

We finished our first meeting by agreeing the following objectives, but would love to hear from you if you would like to be involved, think we have missed anything or want to help us move forward with our aims in any way.

Objectives 

• Raise awareness of dementia in Barnton and Cramond to help reduce stigma
• Signposting to easily accessible information on resources for people with dementia in the local area.
• Encourage people who may have dementia to seek help early for a timely diagnosis
• Seek views of people with dementia, their carers and families.
• Promote health lifestyles for people with dementia
• Recognise local businesses and services as “dementia friendly” by developing a charter and training framework.
• Identified gaps in services either social or health will be addressed where possible to improve care and support for patients and their carers
• Showcase our work to other areas as a pathfinder in Edinburgh’s target to become a Dementia Friendly City

Souvenaid: A new approach in early Alzheimer's

I have blogged about Dementia before and it is a topic I feel strongly about. We have a number of patients with Alzheimer's Disease in who, along with their families and carers we look after on a daily basis. We probably have many more patients living in our community either undiagnosed or with the early stages of Alzheimer's disease. The extent of this problem will be revealed over the next decade.

I was therefore quite excited about the launch of a new product hailed to help early Alzheimer's disease. It has, however, taken me a long time to get my head around this. There has been very little fanfare - an article in the Daily Mail - and indeed there has been some opposition for patient groups. I notice that there is some debate on the dementia forums online, though

Souvenaid came out at the beginning of 2013 and is only available after consultation with a

pharmacist, specialist nurse or GP. I have done a training course and Barnton Pharmacy is now"accredited" to sell Souvenaid.

It is a drink (strawberry and vanilla) which is recommended to be taken daily and contains a unique combination of nutrients which required to make new brain connections, called synapses. The loss of synapses is one of the key features of Alzheimer's disease .

Brilliant! There is something available which can slow the loss of synapses!  Surely we should be jumping up and down with glee and recommending it to everyone in or neighbourhood? NO? Why not?

Firstly, the cost. At £3.50 one milkshake aday will end up costing £1200 a year and constinued use is recommended for most benefit. That's fine if you can afford it but perhaps there are other things we should be recommending our older folk spend there money on.

Secondly, Souvenaid has been launched as a "food for special medical purposes". It is not a drug. This means it has not undergone the same trial required by drugs before they come to market. This does not mean there is no truth in the claims and health benefits, it just needs to be put into perspective.

So now you see my dilemma. I think there is real potential in Souvenaid and I think there is probably a market. So far, three months in, I have not yet been asked about it by anyone in Barnton.

I would be delighted to discuss the product with you if you want to know more about it fr yourself or a friend or family member.

Worried about dementia?

Given that over 80,000 people in Scotland are living with dementia and that one in three people over 65 will die with dementia, I wonder why we are so reluctant to talk about it? Isn't it a worry that we spend eight times less on dementia research than cancer research and yet 40% of dementia patients are in long stay care settings often at huge cost to the public purse.

It reminds me of how we used to see cancer patients and palliative care. No one really spoke about it apart from in hushed tones. Often the person with the illness didn't know what was wrong with them or if they did they thought the worse but weren't given the right information. How far we have come in dealing with cancer. 

I am delighted that there is now a national dementia strategy and that the Scottish government appear to be taking this condition seriously. Hopefully things will change.

What is dementia?
Dementia is the progressive loss of power of the brain. There are many different types but the most common is Alzheimer's disease.

What are the symptoms?
Every person with dementia is different and how their illness affects them can depend on which areas of the brain are most damaged.

One of the most common symptoms if memory loss. It is important to remember that everyone forgets things sometimes!!!!!
However a person with dementia may forget the names of family members, or forget to turn the oven off. They may repeat the same question over and over and not know they are doing it. People with dementia may lose their sense of time, or awareness of which day it is.

Solving problems with dementia can be difficult and this can come across as confusion.
dementia can also affect personality and behaviour as well.

All of these symptoms can be very worrying and frustrating for you and your family.



Help is out there.It is important to seek help early on. The sooner a diagnosis can be made, the better able we are to start planning for the future and accessing services, treatment and help and support. Medical treatments are available which may help some people and research is progressing all the time.

I was lucky enough to attend a training session last week with speakers from Alzheimer Scotland, and was really impressed with the work this organisation are doing. They offer loads of practical help and guidance for dementia patients, their friends and family including; understanding dementia, getting help with benefits and accessing community care.

If you are worried about your memory or that of a family member or friend, Alzheimer Scotland has a free 24 hour helpline 0808 808 300

Telecare. Telewhat????

Do you have an elderly relative? Perhaps you care for someone vulnerable or worry about a neighbour or friend who does not seem to be coping as well as they could.

Read on. Telecare could be part of the solution.

So what is telecare?
Put simply, telecare is a service which provides people with the support to help them lead independent lifestyles. Telecare equipment makes it possible for them to call for help and assistance when needed by linking vulnerable people to monitoring and response centres 24 hours a day, every day of the year.

However, telecare is more than just a personal alarm service.

Depending on the needs of the individual, the service can be used for a wide range of support such as:

• using a simple touchscreen to link up with internet sites or call friends and relatives,
• alert help if you have a fall
• monitor and alert when a tap or the gas has been left on
• video or phone services to reduce isolation
• exit sensors to prevent wandering

The overall aim being to help people to remain living independently in their own homes for as long as possible.

How can I find out more?
Edinburgh Council is supporting telecare and will fund or partially fund the service.

If you are interested in finding out more, Cramond & Barnton Community Council have organised a Telecare event to be held at Cramond Kirk on Thursday 22nd September from 11.00am to 3.00pm.

Telecare will be demonstrated and explained in more detail and there will be the opportunity to ask questions to find out whether telecare is for you or your loved ones.