I’ve donated my #ChattyCat book series to raise money for #ChildreninRead. If you’d like to be in a chance of winning these 5 books, signed and with a dedication of your choice please click on the link below. Ideal Christmas presents x

Posted in Charity, tagged adventure, autumn into winter, cat, catcourt, chairty, Chatty Cat book series, Chatty Cat My Purr-fect Friends, chattycat, children's book, childreninneed, childreninread, christmas, dementia, easyread, educational, halloween, informative, my purr-fect home, spring into summer on September 23, 2020| Leave a Comment »
I’ve donated my #ChattyCat book series to raise money for #ChildreninRead. If you’d like to be in a chance of winning these 5 books, signed and with a dedication of your choice please click on the link below. Ideal Christmas presents x
Posted in Dementia, Uncategorized, tagged #BillytheCat, #BRACE, #Bristol, #Together4Dementia, cat, dementia, Sir Martyn Lewis, Wendy Mitchell on November 17, 2018| Leave a Comment »
Wendy Mitchell on living with dementia and why her cat kept getting fatter
Wendy Mitchell and Sir Martyn Lewis at the BRACE conference
Wendy, who is 62, was diagnosed with early onset dementia in 2014. Earlier this year, her book, Somebody I used to Know, became a Sunday Times best seller and Radio 4’s book of the week. Her account of being diagnosed with dementia and how she has coped with it has inspired many.
She spoke at the recent BRACE conference #Together4Dementia in Bristol and read her favourite extract from her book about her daughter’s cat Billy who kept getting fatter and fatter.
‘Billy pads into the kitchen performing a tiny dance in front of my feet before he finds the patch of sunshine on the kitchen tiles. He flops down on it while I scratch the back of his ears while he purrs his approval. I shake some biscuits into his bowl and he gets up and crunches on them noisily. He’s only allowed a few as Gemma has put him on a diet. She’s not sure why he’s put on so much weight recently. Even the vet commented on it.
‘I make myself a cup of tea and as the kettle boils, I feel Billy’s tail curling around my legs . I glance at his empty bowl. ‘Ah Billy, have I forgotten to feed you ?” He looks up with big, sad eyes, his purr audible over the boiling kettle that switches itself off, and I shake a few more biscuits into his bowl.’
Wendy goes to greet her daughter who has just come home from work. ‘Gemma and I catch up on the day. Twenty minutes must pass by like that and then Billy jumps down from my lap and sniffs at his empty bowl and sits, staring at it. “Ah no, I must have forgotten. Gemma looks at him, unsure.
‘“The vet said Billy has to lose weight; he must be getting fed somewhere else because his diet isn’t working. You are only giving him a few biscuits when you’re on Billy duty, aren’t you mum?”’
‘“Oh yes, I’m sure I do,” as I shake more biscuits into his bowl.’
‘I even see the positives in a bummer of a diagnosis’
Wendy’s account is full of humour and she talks at the conference about being a “glass half full person” saying: “I am a positive person so I even see the positives in a bummer of a diagnosis”.
Wendy used to work as a manager for the NHS at a hospital in Leeds and reveals “I used to be renowned for having a brilliant memory but it started letting me down badly. I came out of my office and I forgot where I was.
“I had so many different diagnoses at the beginning. They said it was stress or the menopause when I had already had the menopause. I knew it wasn’t stress as I am not that type of person.
“After 18 months of different memory tests, there was a SPECT can which showed a slowness in my brain.”
She is determined to reduce the stigma around the disease and encourage others to take part in clinical trials and research.
Billy the cat who kept getting fatter
“People think they have to talk to us differently,” she says. She now has had dementia for four years and still lives independently at home, where she is determined to stay for as long as possible, saying: “Living in a care home with many other people and other voices would be very distressing for me. But at the same time I don’t want my daughters to look after me as I want them to remain as my daughters.”
She has come up with strategies for living at home and says: “There are advantages to living alone as if somebody moves things about, they don’t exist for me any longer.
“At the moment I am coming up with solutions to enable me to stay living on my own at home. I have many adaptations which help me.”
She says “talking is the most powerful thing you can do to allay people’s fears when you have dementia. Talking is the most powerful thing I and my daughters can do.”
Wendy has found peer support from other people living with dementia to be hugely beneficial, saying: “We share solutions all the time and we listen to each other. We are non-judgmental and we are all going through the same thing. If one of us forgets who the prime minister is, it really doesn’t matter.”
Wendy finds images speak more to her than words so in her blogs she uses a lot of photos. “Photographs make me happy. People never take photos of people in a bad mood. When I feel anxious I go into my memory room which is filled with photographs and I look at them.
“I do travel around the country a lot going to conferences on dementia but people see me and think it is easy for me.
“But I have a pink file that tells me where I am going and has details on everything. It also has a plan B as trains don’t always go right. My Twitter friends are amazing and they will tell me what train to get if my train is cancelled.” Wendy admits that: “When I walk out of here today I will forget the details but I will remember the emotions.
Losing memories is like losing precious possessions
“Every day I lose a memory. For me when I lose memories every day, it is like losing my precious possessions every day.”
Wendy writes a blog Which Me Am I Today as she says: “It will hopefully convey the helplessness of those diagnosed with dementia, as there is no cure – the end is inevitable.
“However, I’m also hoping I can convey that, although we’ve been diagnosed, people like me still have a substantial contribution to make; we still have a sense of humour; we still have feelings. I’m hoping to show the reality of trying to cope on a day-to-day basis with the ever-changing environment that dementia throws at those diagnosed with the condition. Living as well as you can with dementia is all about adapting. Adapting to new ways to enable us to live better for longer with dementia.
“I can type as though dementia never entered my world as that part of my brain has not yet been affected, but that often works against me as people question my diagnosis. All I can say is, live a day in my shoes and I’m sure the reality will dawn.
“What I want is not sympathy. What I want is simply to raise awareness.”
To read Wendy’s blog click here
16-Nov-18 Article By: Sue Learner
Posted in Alzheimer's Research UK, Little Kitty Book, tagged Alzheimers, Ann Bowyer, Catie Atkinson, children's book, children's books, dementia, Jaine Keskeys, JB Johnston, Jessica Hiscocks, Jo Wilde, Little Kitty the Cat Burglar, Lucille Rayner, Rachel Lawston, Ros Lyons, Sir Terry Pratchett, Tottie Limejuice, Tracy Terry on November 3, 2015| 2 Comments »
NEWS RELEASE (sent out from Alzheimer’s Research UK)
‘Alzheimer’s Research UK to benefit from Suffolk author’s latest children’s book
An established author, from Lowestoft in Suffolk, has published a children’s book and all proceeds from book sales will be donated to Alzheimer’s Research UK. With more than 30 years’ experience working in the care sector Suzan Collins has met many people dealing with dementia, which has motivated her to support the UK’s leading dementia research charity and bring new treatments closer.
The book Little Kitty – the Cat Burglar is aimed at seven to nine year olds (and adults will like it too!) and follows the adventures of Little Kitty told through the voices of eight writers. The cover for the book has been created by designer Rachel Lawston who also worked on the covers of the late Sir Terry Pratchett’s children’s novels The Johnny Maxwell Trilogy. Sir Terry Pratchett was a patron of Alzheimer’s Research UK until he passed away with Posterior Cortical Atrophy (PCA) in March this year.
Speaking about her reasons for supporting Alzheimer’s Research UK, Suzan said:
“During my time working in the care sector I have come into contact with many people living with dementia. It is a devastating condition and one where there are still huge advances to be made in the understanding of the disease processes.
Alongside my career as an author and ex-manager of care homes I now specialise as a consultant and trainer in social care. The funds raised from this book will be donated to Alzheimer’s Research UK as myself and the other contributing writers all firmly believe that research holds the answer to dementia. It is vital that more money is invested in dementia research so that the treatments that are so desperately needed and can change the lives of so many people can be discovered.”
Jessica Hiscocks, Regional Fundraising Officer at Alzheimer’s Research UK, said: “We are very grateful to Suzan and all of the writers involved in creating this book and for giving their time (free) and donating all proceeds to Alzheimer’s Research UK. The money raised from book sales will help provide crucial resources for our scientists and fund many hours of pioneering research work, driving the next breakthrough.”
“There are 850,000 people in the UK living with dementia, including nearly 12,000 people in Suffolk. Research has the power to defeat dementia and Alzheimer’s Research UK is leading the charge. We rely entirely on public donations to fund our world class research and it’s thanks to the support of people like Suzan that we’re able to continue our crucial work.”
Joining Suzan in this marvellous project:
Local authors: Lucille Rayner, Ros Lyons, Ann Bowyer Jo Wilde.
Other authors (from across the country): JB Johnston, Tracy Terry and Tottie Limejuice in France.
Editor: Jaine Keskeys Illustrator: Catie Atkinson.’
Authors (L-R) Ann Bowyer, Lucille Rayner and I met with Jessica Hiscocks, Regional Fundraising Officer last week.
When I first asked some of the writers to join me in this fab project I was delighted when people said they would, as time went on I was overwhelmed by just how many people were giving their time and skills for FREE! (I did shed a few tears fortunately no-ne saw). We didn’t know how the story would end, we just followed on from the chapter before and it is actually a very good book (but please don’t just take my word for it …)
Little Kitty – the Cat Burglar is available to buy now on Amazon in both paperback and ebook/kindle and costs £5.00 and … ALL royalties go to Alzheimer’s Research UK. Oh and there’s more … it’s an ideal Christmas present.
Posted in 2015, Alzheimer's, Alzheimers, Lowestoft Memory Walk, tagged Alzheimers, dementia, Estelle Tasker, Jo Wilde, Linda Harmer, lowestoft, memory walk, Memory Walk Pakefield 27th Sept 2015, Pakefield on October 2, 2015| Leave a Comment »
On Sunday we had our memory walk. The sky was aqua blue and the sun shone not only on us but also on the sea. It was beautiful. A beautiful day where everyone appeared happy but no doubt had mixed emotions, either walking for someone they knew who had dementia or walking in memory of someone who had passed who had dementia. I took a few minutes of time out to sit on the bench and gaze into the sea, keeping my own emotions under control but I couldn’t help think of the lovely young lady who a short while previously asked if she could buy a second medal to put on her Nan’s grave. We gave her the medal. This fabulous young lady had cared for her Nan for many years and I take my hat off to her.
There wasn’t a tree where we held the walk so we couldn’t have a memory tree and instead we had a beacon tree (tied some string round the beacon and the walkers wrote on a tag who they were walking for and tied it to the string on the beacon).
We had various stalls, cakes, guess the name of the monkey (he was called Charlie but I think he should have been called Dave), guess the weight of the cake, a super raffle, and we raised the fantastic amount of £747.49 (this amount does not include any sponsor money).
Jo Wilde and I started the walks this year. Not expecting such a big crowd we didn’t really know how to get everyone’s attention and start the walk (next time we’ll have a microphone), so as you can see from this pic, Jo and I stood on the table, thanked everyone for supporting this great cause and then we counted down from 10-1 and off they walked, along the cliff overlooking the sea. We had two walked around, a small one of 2K and one of 4K and everyone, inc people pushing wheelchairs chose to do the 4K one.
It will be a while before we know the actual amount that was raised as we wait for people to send in their sponsorship money and the on line just-giving pages are open for up to one year (which is great as someone has just put £15.00 on my page). The weekly totals for the amounts that have come in on the just-giving pages are passed on to me (in my role of one of the organisers) and we, the Lowestoft fundraising committee are proud to announce that already it looks like we will pass the £5000.00 mark.
Our Memory Walk next year will be even bigger than this years. The committee will be meeting in two weeks’ time to discuss our next event. Here is our new page on Facebook, please feel free to like it and if you would like to be involved next year please let us know.
https://www.facebook.com/Lowestoft-Memory-Walk-25th-Sept-2016-1070431756308752/timeline/
Piece in the local newspaper
Dozens take part in Lowestoft Memory Walk: The Lowestoft Memory Walk held its third annual walk on Sunday. http://b it.ly/1iEu7dA #Lowestoft
Posted in Lowestoft Memory Walk, tagged Age UK, Alzheimers, dementia, Enid Thwaites, Estelle Tasker, Helen Thwaites, Jo Wilde, Liana Moyse, Linda Harmer, Lowestoft Journal, Lucy Rayner, memory walks, Phil Mummery, The Beach Radio, TMS Media on September 26, 2015| Leave a Comment »
I am in my third year of organising the local Memory Walk with Jo Wilde for the Alzheimer’s Society. Previously Jo and I have organised this by ourselves but we had such a lot of interest last year so we designed a committee to help us and this year it is going swimmingly.
Being with the committee group has been great to generate and discuss new ideas and this year our event will be better than ever. Not only do we have two walks but we also have various stalls inc: raffle, cake stalls, guess the name of the monkey (I think it should be called Dave), guess how many sweets in the jar, face painting and some craft stalls.
It takes a lot of advertising to get an event off the ground and I had great fun talking on the radio promoting our event.
I would like to pay a special thanks to TMS Media for writing our press releases, and the Lowestoft Journal and the Beach Radio for their support. Would also like to thank local businesses that have donated fab raffle prizes and their names will be in the post walk article in the newspaper.
Thanks to the fab committee for all their hard work: Jo Wilde, Linda Harmer, Liana Moyse, Estelle Tasker, Carla Neve, Phil Mummery, Lucy Rayner, Helen Thwaites and Enid Thwaites.
If you would like to know more about our event please click on this link:
https://www.facebook.com/Lowestoft-Memory-Walk-27th-Sept-2015-1468057330150195/timeline/
Posted in Alzheimers, Care and Support, Care home, Dementia, Elderly, nursing home, Older People, raise concerns, Speak out, tagged Age UK, Alzheimers, care home, CQC, dementia, dignity, good values, Health Watch, person centred, Person centred support, poor care, The Silver Line on October 19, 2014| Leave a Comment »
Dementia
‘UK’s dementia care betrayal: Nine in ten care homes and hospitals fail patients, says damning report
Reading this is worrying but not a surprise. We’re hearing more now about poor care. It can be very stressful if you need to find a care/nursing home for your loved one with dementia, a care/nursing home that provides care and support with a dedicated staff team.
But as we read above, there is ‘a staggering 90 per cent of the care homes and hospitals inspected found to have aspects of variable or poor care’. So where does this leave us for who are trying to find a good care home for our loved one. And why is this happening?
I have seen great staff across the country who genuinely care for those they support. They are dedicated and provide person centred support, and many a time work long hours due to staff shortages/sickness. I have also seen staff that have delivered poor care. Sometimes, it’s not their fault. The staff/client ratios in these large homes are minimal and it would be helpful for the Care Quality Commission to bring in a minimum number of clients to staff ratio. The former Commission of Social Care Inspection [CSCI] had this.
Dementia is a specilised area and need staff who are trained to support people with dementia. It is not good enough to receive training on how to support older people, training is needed on how to support individuals with dementia. People can live well with dementia, but only if staff have the knowledge on how to support the individual to do this.
Is a care/nursing home needed for the individual with dementia or can they be supported at home, with a Personal Budget? [Personal budgets give you flexibility in how your care needs are met.]
What is needed in a care/nursing home to enable a person with dementia to be cared for, and be safe? As a minimum this is needed:
The care assessment completed prior to going into the care/nursing home needs to give an accurate full description of the individual’s needs.
We need to get the right quality of care. Staff to be recruited who genuinely want to care and support others [not those who see it as ‘just a job’].
High turnover rates lead to lack of continuity. Do the managers carry out an Exit Interview with staff to see why they’re leaving? If they did, this may help them see the reasons and if the reasons are to do with the Home then the manager can look to rectify this.
Money available to train staff in this specialised area and this money to be used for training and nothing else.
Time for staff to complete training.
Staff to discuss with their supervisor/manager afterwards to see if the training met their need.
Good client staff ratio on shifts.
Time for staff to carry out best practice [and not cut corners due to short staffing].
Senior on shift to lead the shift, monitor, observe and discuss poor practice if apparent.
Staff to receive regular 1-1 confidential supervision sessions where training needs are identified, performance discussed, feedback given and concerns shared.
Staff to be able to express their concerns without fear of reprisal or losing their job.
What makes a good care/nursing home?
Many care/nursing homes can look grand from the outside, and sometimes on the inside too. But this doesn’t necessarily mean that they pay the same amount of time cleaning the place to supporting the people who live there.
Some of the things I feel should be in place:
Care/support plans are individual to the person [and not the same as everyone elses]. The plans should take in the uniqueness of the individual, their interests, abilities, needs and preferences.
Staff must treat individuals with dignity and respect.
Systems should be in place to help the individual with choices. This can be objects to refer to or pictures/photographs.
Dedicated and trained staff team.
Keyworker system in place.
Good leadership and support for staff.
Clients and family are listened to.
House meetings where the people living there are able to express opinions and make suggestions for their home.
Happy, relaxed atmosphere.
Activities for the individual to choose if s/he wishes to participate.
Useful websites:
Alzheimer’s Society http://alzheimers.org.uk/
Age UK http://www.ageuk.org.uk/
Health Watch http://www.healthwatch.co.uk/
The Silver Line http://www.thesilverline.org.uk/
Posted in Alzheimers, Care and Support, care at home, Care home, Dementia, Elderly, tagged Advance care planning, breach human rights, care home, CQC, dementia, End of life care, horrific care, nursing home, poor care, staff attitude on August 12, 2014| Leave a Comment »
We failed elderly because we were too scared care home owners would sue us, watchdog admits
Head of watchdog for care homes admits: we failed to protect vulnerable because we feared being sued
Posted in Alzheimers, Care and Support, care at home, Care home, Dementia, Elderly, Hospital, nursing home, Older People, raise concerns, Speak out, tagged Advance care planning, breach human rights, broken limbs, care, CQC, dementia, dignity, Elderabuse, End of life care, family, good care, good values, horrific care, nursing home, Person centred support, poor care, sad, upsetting on June 10, 2014| Leave a Comment »
Improve the standard of residential, domiciliary and hospital care of older, vulnerable people
I would like the best, both for me and my family and friends. What about you??
Join me in being PRO-ACTIVE in helping prevent abuse of older, vulnerable people. Please do not do nothing and wait for more abuse to happen and organisations to go into the homes/hospitals after the abuse has happened.
This is what I am asking you to read and sign. I hope that you will read it through and click on the link at the end where you can sign your name to say you support this petition. Please do not worry, myself or the public do not see any of your details, not even your name.
We call upon the government to improve the standard of residential, domiciliary & hospital care of older, vulnerable people, to:
•Ensure that all staff in residential, domiciliary & hospital care receive regular 1-1 supervision sessions where training needs are identified, receive positive/constructive feedback on practice, & concerns on poor practices are shared & actioned
•Require all care staff [& HCA’s] to complete & pass a nationally accredited course of training
•Set a mandatory staffing ratio of carers/nurses
•Ensure that all supervisory staff in homes & on wards receive training on leadership •Introduce maximum lengths of working hours & shifts; & increasing the minimum hourly rate of pay for care staff, nurses & HCA’s
•Establish a national register of care staff & HCA’s
•Ensure that managers/home owners are accountable for failings •Create tougher penalties for those guilty of abuse of those in their care •Ensure protection for all ‘whistle-blowing’ staff.
Improve the standard of residential, domiciliary and hospital care of older, vulnerable people, click on link and leave your name.
Thank you for your support. It is greatly appreciated. http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/66065