If GPs and hospital doctors directed some elderly patients to a care support service that allowed them to continue living in their own homes, “lost years” in old age could be avoided, according to Fiona Lowry, chief executive of The Good Care Group.
“It is clearly demonstrated that the elderly are more likely to continue to thrive in their own homes – provided appropriate support is maintained and needs are regularly assessed with support adjusted as required,” said Fiona Lowry. “By continuing to welcome family and friends at home, and by, perhaps, keeping a dearly-loved pet, an older person can maintain vitality and interests that would diminish in a residential home, resulting, sadly, in what can be termed lost years.
“Clients can be supported to live in their own homes – whether they need help with personal care, medication, cooking and light household duties or round-the-clock care focused on the challenges of dementia and Parkinson’s disease. We are working with a range of independent experts to ensure the training for our carers goes far beyond the legal requirements. In dementia care, for instance, we have developed our own programme based on the ‘Specialised Early Care for Alzheimer’s’ method – SPECAL.”
Supporters of the SPECAL approach point out that the associated pattern of decline need not be inevitable. For example, techniques are used to harness intact past memories in such a way that the person is able to live a relatively happy life in the present, drawing on memories of situations and activities which occurred many years ago, but which still have relevance to their current lifestyle. By using this approach, supporters believe that dementia-associated memory loss does not have to lead to personality loss.
In 1999 the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) undertook a formal evaluation of the SPECAL Project with the following positive findings:
• People with dementia take less medication.
• People with dementia stay at home longer.
• Carers report a plateau effect in the disease process.
