Advice on spotting signs of dementia

Staff from an award-winning local care agency are offering expert advice to the public on spotting the early warning signs of dementia as part of World Alzheimer’s Month this September.

According to the Alzheimer’s Society, there are 850,000 people with dementia in the UK, with numbers set to rise to more than one million by 2025 and two million by 2051.

Sam Evans, Registered Manager at Abacare, which provides care across Welshpool, said: “As part of our training we are able to recognise the early signs of dementia in a person and as part of World Alzheimer’s Month, we wanted to share this expert knowledge, so people know exactly what to look out for among their family and friends.”

Some of the early signs include:

·      Memory loss that upsets day-to-day living

·      Issues solving problems

·      Difficulty completing familiar tasks at home or work

·      Confused about the time or place

·      Trouble understanding visuals and spatial relationships

·      New problems with writing or speaking words

·      Misplacing things and losing the ability to retrace steps

·      Decreased or poor judgement

·      Withdrawing from work or social activities

·      Mood swings or changes in personality.

Sam added: “These signs could be a one-off, but if you notice them regularly appearing during a period of time, we would advise the person seeks medical advice. It could be nothing but it’s better to be safe than sorry. 

“In our line of work, we are able to spot these signs in the service users we look after and our carers will alert management who will broach the subject with the service user’s family and it will be recommended that they seek medical advice.

“Carers are also trained to manage the challenging behaviours associated with dementia including accusations, aggression, delusions, repetitive behaviour, suspicion and shouting.

“We are passionate about empowering our carers with the best possible skills and knowledge. Our training starts at the very beginning of a carer’s career and is then continued through the Social Care Institute for Excellence training, which includes a specialist dementia care training programme.”

More than 225,000 people will develop dementia this year, which is one every three minutes.

One in six people over the age of 80 have dementia and there are more than 40,000 people under the age of 65 with dementia.

Sam continued: “The main reason for the increase in people with the disease is the fact that we are living longer. Type two diabetes and obesity rates are also rising and playing a part in the rise of dementia sufferers, along with other risk factors such as smoking, drinking, high blood pressure, poor diet and lack of exercise.

“Having a diagnosis of dementia doesn’t mean a person has to lose control of their life or independence. Many people continue to live fulfilled and happy lives for many years. We’re able to provide dementia care services and support and anyone interested or needing advice, should give us a call on 01686 625644.”

Abacare operates a professional Care Management Team that is committed to providing high quality care to individuals in their own homes.

The large team of trained, specialist, care workers provide positive based outcomes and person-centred care to people throughout Wales.

No experience is necessary to become a carer as free, full training is offered, which includes a company induction, first aid, information on dementia, health and safety, food safety, infection control, handling medication and moving and handling service users, with the opportunity to achieve Qualification and Credit Framework (QCF) after the initial six months’ probationary period.

New recruits are given free uniforms, access to national staff discount scheme for all major brands as well as 28 days paid holiday, paid travel between calls and paid mileage.

Abacare is also offering FaceTime or Skype interviews to candidates in order to meet the demands of the modern jobseeker. Its view is that busy people wanting a career change can ‘meet’ the team via FaceTime or similar applications and find out about the roles it has to offer, as well as meet a couple of team members and, if they are about, also say ‘hello’ to a carer too.

Anyone interested in joining the team at Abacare should visit www.abacare.org.uk or call 01686 625644.

PICTURE: Brenda Francis, a carer at Abacare, which is offering free expert advice on dementia as part of World Alzheimer’s Month this September.