Health secretary Steve Barclay held out the prospect of a government Major Conditions Strategy designed to tackle six health conditions including dementia. Barclay told the House of Commons that the policy would mark a shift to “integrated, whole-person care,” alleviating pressure on the health system, increasing healthy life expectancy and reducing health-related unemployment. The major…
Adopting at least four healthy lifestyle habits can slow down cognitive decline, a large-scale China study has found. The China Cognition and Ageing Study, in a paper published in the BMJ, considered six healthy lifestyle factors and discovered that those who did one or none of them showed the fastest decline, while those who did…
Amateur rugby players have followed their professional counterparts in launching a lawsuit over brain injuries causing dementia. More than 55 players sent a “letter of claim” to rugby governing bodies, including the Rugby Football Union, as a prelude to a lawsuit. The players claim that governing bodies were negligent in failing to protect them from…
Church leaders have called for a National Care Covenant in a landmark report produced by the Archbishops’ Commission on Reimagining Care. The commission set up by the Church of England began taking evidence in summer 2021 and urges the government to radically rethink the social care system. A “reimagined” care system based on a National…
Dorset care home Newstone House opened a therapy room in honour of former resident Graham Richmond. Called the Richmond Retreat, it is a sensory-based room promoting wellbeing and relaxation for residents at the dementia care home. Resident Donald Skilling is pictured in the new room by a wallpaper photo of nearby Sturminster Newton Mill.
A new phase of its “I live with dementia” campaign has been triggered by Dementia UK, the Admiral Nurse charity. The campaign helps families affected by dementia and raises awareness of the support Admiral Nurses can provide. January is one of the busiest months for the Dementia UK helpline after relatives have come together over…
Care association National Care Forum (NCF) has welcomed plans by the government to discharge more people from hospital by buying up places in care homes. Thousands of placements will be purchased for people who are medically fit to be discharged, as part of a £250 million initiative to free up more beds on hospital wards….
A charity specialising in medical ID jewellery is working with the police to trace and support people with dementia who become lost. MedicAlert UK is launching a “Safe & Found” initiative, using an emergency helpline number engraved on the jewellery, and will initially partner Thames Valley Police to help them find out about anyone who…
Fourteen pilot schemes across England are attempting to increase diagnosis rates by checking care home residents to see whether they have dementia. Under the NHS’s £900,000 drive to revive the flagging dementia diagnosis rate, GPs will share lists of care home residents with specialist teams who will go into care homes. Nurses and other clinicians…
A Language and Heritage section has been launched as part of the Living with Dementia Toolkit, which is a freely available website offering resources such as films and links to give people with dementia hope, inspire them through real-life experiences, and suggest ideas to help them live well. The new section is premised on the…