DEMENTIA CARE AT HOME

Dementia care at home: explore the options at The Alzheimer’s Show

This year’s speakers’ stage at The Alzheimer’s Show promises to be jam-packed with insights from industry experts on dementia and Alzheimer’s. We caught up with one of those experts, Amanda Ansell from the nationwide dementia care specialist Helping Hands, to see what insights she’ll be sharing on the day.

The making of a dementia specialist

Amanda’s career in care stretches back over 30 years. During this time she has been involved not only in caring for people with different levels and types of dementia, but has taught others about delivering the right dementia care as well.

Today she’s an Area Manager for Helping Hands Home Care and oversees unique packages of care that are arranged for families throughout the south east of England.

“I started off as a care worker with a small domiciliary care company in East Sussex,” Amanda explains. “From then I progressed through the ranks and eventually became a Registered Manager with the Care Quality Commission. I later joined Helping Hands as a carer trainer before the role I’m in today.”

Her own personal experiences of being a carer have shown Amanda how difficult it can be for a family supporting a loved one with dementia. She shares this first-hand experience with other carers and colleagues, helping them to understand as much as possible about what it’s like for someone to live with dementia, but also enabling them to support a family in need.

“I am a great believer in the fact that if you train and support your care workers to the highest possible standards, these standards will be evident in the quality of care our customers receive.”

“Because I’ve worked across different roles,” she adds, “I have a lot of experience to share with the rest of the Helping Hands team, helping them to help our customers.”

The benefits of dementia care at home

Having supported people within their homes for such a long period of time, Amanda knows how important this familiarity can be. A person’s home is the only place that they feel comfortable, so it’s natural that they will want to stay. In her talk, Amanda will be discussing how it’s possible for a family to arrange care at home and what they can do to help their relative.

“Moving into a care home can have a really significant impact on someone who has dementia,” Amanda says. “The change in environment – away from the place they recognise the most – brings emotional upheaval and stress. But with just a few modifications, we can all play a part in helping our loved ones to remain comfortable at home and get the care they need.”

With care available at home, living with dementia doesn’t mean a loss of independence. This will be a key message Amanda hopes to convey in her talk at The Alzheimer’s Show. And her Helping Hands colleagues will also be attending to help answer any questions you might have.

Explore the alternatives to care homes

Throughout the show, the Helping Hands team will be on-hand to share their advice about caring for a loved one with dementia. With nearly 30 years’ experience of supporting people with different care needs to continue living at home, Helping Hands has a dedicated dementia helpline and provides practical tips that families can implement within their homes.

Amongst the free guides and advice on offer is the Dementia Toolkit, a specially designed toolkit full of room and appliance labels and practical guidance to ease a person’s experience around the home.

Over half of Helping Hands’ customers live with dementia to some degree. This is one of the reasons why the company places great importance on training each of its carers about the effects of the condition and what they should do in certain scenarios. It’s not only carers who undertake this training; everyone at Helping Hands is taught about dementia in order to enable others to live a life of independence and comfort.

“I’m truly proud to represent Helping Hands at such a key event and share how we help people with dementia to keep their independence at home,” Amanda shares. “All of the exhibitors at The Alzheimer’s Show will bring different knowledge and experiences and I’m looking forward to hearing the other speakers too.”

Helping Hands has a network of almost 70 branches across England and Wales offering regular home visits. Their experts also arrange and manage dedicated live-in support, even to families in remote areas. With an ever-growing pool of fully-trained carers, finding the right support for a family member or friend can be easier than you might realise.

Amanda Ansell will be speaking in the Exhibitor Workshop Theatre on Saturday 9th June at 10.55am. Otherwise, you can speak to the Helping Hands team throughout the event at Stand E8 – just drop by for a chat and a free Dementia Toolkit.