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Dementia Care Dementia covers a range of symptoms, which can include confusion, memory loss, delusion and difficulties with communication. It is not a disease, rather a set of symptoms accompanying conditions that affect the brain, the most common of which is Alzheimer’s, followed by vascular dementia, Lewy body dementia, frontotemporal dementia and mixed dementia. Dementia is progressive and will affect each person in a different way. A person living with dementia may find it difficult to concentrate, become easily anxious, upset or withdrawn or feel overwhelmed when it comes to making choices. Dementia can create problems with co-ordination and orientation, visual blind spots and perception such as judging spaces and distances.
A person living with dementia may require a specialist dementia care home when they are struggling to live independently and it is no longer safe for them to remain in their own home. The latter stages of dementia can be challenging, when is the right time to move into a care home and who should make that decision. Specialist dementia care can help to meet the needs of people living with dementia as their condition progresses and eases the distress of those who have been caring for them.
While all Forest Care homes can accommodate residents with early dementia, Holly Lodge is our award-winning purpose-built specialist dementia care home in Surrey, offering both residential dementia care and nursing dementia care, and welcoming residents with different conditions and stages of dementia. Holly Lodge uses contemporary design to create calming and stimulating environments, with digital wallpapers of familiar destinations for reminiscence therapy, and soft furnishings of varying textures to allow residents to easily distinguish between items. Little touches such as memory boxes are a talking point and orientation aid enabling residents to easily find their bedrooms. Their activity team organises a variety of engaging and multi-sensory group and one-to-one activities and experiences to help improve concentration, communication and social interaction, including ‘Guess the scent’ games, baking and gardening with different aromas and textures, textural arts & crafts, Pets as Therapy visits (alpacas, piglets and penguins to name a few!), themed props in live music sessions and textured balls during exercises.
“…Our profound gratitude for the care, kindness and respect all the staff showed mum as her dementia progressed. In the final hours of her life, the staff could not have been more professional. While it took her a little while to settle in, in all the photos we have of her at Holly Lodge she is smiling and happy which is a great comfort. She was looked after superbly and kept safe…We definitely picked the right place for her to spend her final years.” Relative review.
At Forest Care, we involve families in care and activity planning and use life story work to shape the way we engage with our residents in an interesting and meaningful way. A personal understanding of what really matters to each resident, the things they enjoy, their life histories and their achievements, all helps to create a reassuring and stimulating environment. Our compassionate, experienced and dementia care trained teams provide 24/7 support for your loved ones at every stage of their dementia journey, filling their days with activities that bring joy and provide a sense of purpose and achievement.
Our open visiting policy means family and friends are welcome at any time, and our Home Managers are here if you wish to talk about your loved one’s care or any aspect of the home.
There are several different types of Dementia, with Alzheimer’s disease being the most common. All types have different characteristics but understanding those and the different stages is very difficult. In general, there are 3 stages of dementia; early, middle, and late, but there is another “7-stage” model that breaks cognitive decline down to more specific categories across those 3 general stages. It is very important to remember though that the progression of dementia is different for everyone. Being able to determine roughly where a person might be on their dementia journey by helping identify signs and symptoms can help with understanding and in determining the most appropriate care needs. Thus, the 7-stages are: –
Normal Behaviour – In the early stages of Dementia there might not be any visible symptoms. Changes in a person’s brain can happen several years before any signs or symptoms do.
Forgetfulness – a person might forget things easily and constantly lose things around the house, but this could also be due to normal age-related memory loss.
Mild Decline – a person might start to notice subtle changes and signs that something ‘isn’t quite right.’ That could be frequently losing things, forgetting appointments and so on. This stage can last for several years.
Moderate Decline – at this stage, the signs and symptoms become more apparent to everyone. A person might struggle to manage money or even to remember what they had just eaten. This is the point at which they would most likely be diagnosed with Dementia if they visit their GP. This stage can last up to 2 years.
Moderately Severe Decline – a person may need more help with day-to-day living during these later stages. While they will probably still be able to take care of other personal needs on their own (such as using the toilet), they might not be able to dress properly or appropriately or to remember simple facts about themselves, such as their address or phone number. However, they usually will still recognise family and friends and be able to recall events from years ago very clearly. This stage typically can last 1-2 years.
Severe Decline – a person will need constant supervision at home. They will probably need help with washing and dressing and may also become incontinent. There might be changes in their personality and behaviour such as anger and aggression. They might be very confused, but they will often still know and recognise the people closest to them. Typically, this stage can last 2-3 years.
Very Severe Decline – many people will pass away before they reach this final stage, often as a result of other health conditions. At this stage, a person will usually experience severe loss of speech, and will need assistance with all daily living tasks, and may even need round-the-clock care from professional carers.
The signs vary from person to person. A person can exhibit certain characteristics such as simple forgetfulness for many years before that becomes more serious, such as forgetting appointments or directions or frequently losing things. There are different stages to dementia and each stage typically exhibits subtle changes where signs and symptoms become more obvious.
There is no specific trigger for dementia. Dementia is a progressive disease, and the progression can be very different according to the individual and to the type of dementia they are diagnosed with. There are often triggers to specific behaviours, such as anger or aggression but that depends on the individual and their type of dementia.
The progression of dementia varies by individual. A person may have dementia for several years before any signs or symptoms become noticeable. More pronounced progression following diagnosis through to the later stages can also last for several years.
This varies by individual, but typically this happens during the later stages of dementia where a person has severe cognitive decline.
