Planning for future care needs

There is a lot to take on board when you have received a dementia diagnosis and a lot of information to read up on and absorb. While the diagnosis can be a crushing blow, much research is being undertaken to understand dementia more clearly. The illness does not define the person and each person’s care should be tailored to who they are, what their interests are, where they may have lived and what they are about. 

The illness has a cruel impact on people towards the later or more advanced stages of dementia, but that can take many years to get to.  Each patient is different and therefore each patient has a different progression rate. In general, there are 3 loosely defined stages of dementia: early, middle and late, although clinicians may make reference to the 7 stages of dementia. With early stages generally includes the pre-diagnosis stage, because the symptoms are so mild, or the disease is not really that obvious or diagnosed as anything yet. The middle stage is when symptoms become more obvious and there can be more challenging symptoms of dementia. During the final stages of dementia, the patient is more likely to have difficulties with communication or have impacted motor skills, so they may be less steady on their feet. 

Person centred care

If you are not receiving this already, then you should request that the care plan focuses on person centred care, which takes account of the dementia patient’s history, pastimes, hobbies and so on. Some of the information in relation to their history can be very useful for caregivers in the future and it will help to tailor some of the alternative therapies listed below, to the patient, or identify if they may be suitable or not.

Keeping them talking and socialising

Find local community groups for dementia patients and their carers will be central to dementia care. Some of these community groups are under financial pressure, so there may not be as many facilities local to you. As a caregiver you could even consider setting one up yourself, in a local community or village hall. One of the things that is believed to fasttrack dementia decline, is the lack of socialising and communication. If patients stop communicating, they may start to become more introverted or locked into their symptoms. Even if they are struggling with words, memory or speech, there are therapies that can help. From remembering words to therapies that can encourage verbal or non verbal communication, such as music therapy. 

Alternative therapies

As yet, there is no cure for dementia, but with research ongoing there is a lot of new understanding as to how alternative therapies can be used to support and manage dementia. These therapies include: 

• Music therapy

• Art therapy

• Sensory therapy

• Gardening

• Exercise (in agreement with medical professional's advice)

• Yoga

• Mindfulness

Future care needs

In the early stages of dementia, a patient is still able to carry out most of their usual activities. They may even continue to work or to drive. It is difficult sometimes to face into the facts as to what might happen in the future, but it is important to acknowledge that in that future, there will be changes to the dementia patient’s needs. It is important to sit and discuss these, once everyone has come to terms with the diagnosis. This gives the dementia patient, the ability to articulate what they want to do, whether that is to live in their own home, independently as long as possible, or to consider a sheltered housing or care home option. We have an article about care options here. The earlier you can discuss these wants, the more prepared you can be to get a plan in place. It will also be a good time to look at and consider finances, as well as legal requirements, such as having a lasting power of attorney in place, or review the will.

Changes to the house

It is important to consider what changes may be necessary to the house in the future, particularly if the dementia patient wants to live independently or cared for in their own home. 

We cover this in more detail in our article here. Things to consider include: 

• Lighting and glare

• Colours and contrasts

• Trip hazards and materials 

• Safety in and around the home

• How to make the kitchen or bathroom safe for a dementia patient

Who to contact for care needs

All assessments for care requirements are carried out by the local council. This is covered by the social services department (correct as June 2019). They will arrange for someone to come out and review the dementia patient’s needs, their living set up and so on and make recommendations as well as provide details on local community services. They will also be the department that you can request a care giver’s assessment. In reality, with cash strapped councils and reduced funding amounts, the level of support may vary vastly between each area. They will however be able to provide you with a wealth of information of all of the local community services that are available and any charitable groups that may run dementia related groups or activities.

Search our Knowledge base for some of the themes outlined above and if you are keen in finding care options, find out more about our free care finding service here.