Bridging the gap in specialist care: national coverage on ITV Wales
In dementia’s final stages, it’s widely known that offering support to those living with it and their loved ones is crucial. Yet what often falls through the cracks is the help required in the earlier stages of diagnosis.
During a visit from ITV Wales to Meddyg Care’s Porthmadog home, staff and the daughter of a current resident shared what a difference an extra level of early support could bring to those with the condition.
Meddyg Care have partnered with national charity Dementia UK to bring in an Admiral nurse, the first role of its kind to operate alongside a care home in Wales, with only four of these specialist nurses currently working within Wales.
Osian Wyn Roberts, team leader at the home, shared:
“The Admiral nurse will be our point of contact between the local community and ourselves, so having that prior knowledge of an individual before they come into a home is going to make a massive difference.”
The Admiral nurse will provide support to families throughout every stage of the process including all transitions in care, the end of life and post-bereavement.
Helen Davies, whose mother Moreen is now happily settled at the home, expressed that having access to an Admiral nurse could have provided a world of support in the earlier stages of her dementia.
Helen said:
“It was very difficult, obviously a lot more for my father because he was there with her 24 hours a day, and as she was getting progressively worse, it did get to the point where I had to give up work.
“I couldn’t physically go to work because I could have 10 minutes in work and then I’d have a phone call saying I needed to get there and help dad [care for her mother].”
Jo Cairns, area nurse manager at Meddyg Care, added:
“An Admiral nurse can take them [Meddyg’s residents and their loved ones] from newly diagnosed to a place of comfort – we’re kind of like the bridge of comfort. That’s how I’m going to see this role.
“I would like to develop it as well to incorporate a respite day centre so that families can take their loved ones to a mid-point in the diagnosis.”
42,000 people in Wales currently live with dementia. Meddyg Care’s Admiral nurse scheme aims to provide an encompassing support system to enhance the wellbeing and quality of life for those living with the condition and their loved ones.
You can watch the footage posted on ITV News Wales here or for the full article, please follow the link below:
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