Participation rates in late-stage dementia drug trials have been described by Alzheimer’s Research UK (ARUK) as “shockingly low”. According to ARUK, just 61 people were recruited to these trials last year, around 100 times fewer than for cancer and 10 times fewer than for either stroke or coronary heart disease. The charity published the figures…
Queen of Queens: Maycroft Manor care home got into the spirit of the Brighton Pride Parade as residents and staff dressed up in rainbow colours and waved flags for the occasion. Resident Gill Woods (pictured) was hailed the Queen of all Queens in the celebrations. “I had to keep pinching myself, I thought I was…
A musical celebration of the life of Barbara Pointon MBE will be held in Cambridge on 25 September. Barbara became well known in the late 1990s when ITV showed the documentary Malcolm and Barbara: A Love Story, about how she cared for her husband who had dementia. She became a high profile campaigner on dementia…
Residential care homes have urged the government to protect them from massive rises in energy costs. The National Care Forum (NCF), which represents social care providers, said they were facing price rises of 400% for gas and electricity that were “totally unaffordable”. Vic Rayner, NCF CEO, added: “This is causing immense pressure for social care…
The National Day of Arts in Care Homes, an annual event organised by the National Activity Providers Association (NAPA), takes place on Saturday 24 September celebrating arts and creativity in care settings. Care providers and local arts organisations are expected to arrange events showcasing creative work to support health and wellbeing. Among initiatives on the…
Marc Wortmann, former CEO of Alzheimer’s Disease International (ADI), died in August this year at the age of 63. Mr Wortmann was Executive Director of Alzheimer Nederland from 2000 until 2006, during which time he co-organised the Alzheimer Europe Conference in Maastricht, in 2002. He then became CEO of ADI from 2007-2017. He was a strong advocate…
In a long-delayed announcement, the government has met its pledge to double dementia research funding to £160 million a year by 2024. Fulfilling the “Dementia Moonshot” promise made in the 2019 election manifesto, PM Boris Johnson said that £95 million would also be ring-fenced for a dementia taskforce along the lines of the UK Vaccines…
Two police officers are being investigated after firing a Taser at a care home resident with dementia who later died. Police were called to the Sussex care home following reports that 93-year-old Donald Burgess, who was in a wheelchair, had threatened staff with a knife. The officers are understood to have used a baton, pepper…
Vibrant Communities hosts live, online social groups for care home residents, including virtual tours of museums, galleries and landmarks, and it has lined up a varied calendar of events for the coming weeks. Among the highlights are Movement from your chair (31 August), Film Shoot: South Pacific (1 Sept), Desert Island Discs (2 Sept), Art…
A series of guides have been published for people with dementia on using voice assistants like Amazon Alexa and Google Home Hub. Written by Narinder Kapur, visiting professor of neuropsychology at UCL, the guides – Alexa for Alzheimer’s and Google Assistant for Alzheimer’s – are available on Amazon for £9.95. Research findings suggest voice assistants…