"Mum’s quality of life has improved"

My mother was referred to the dementia outreach team through the care home she is in at the moment.

She was appointed Mary as her occupational therapist.

Mary introduced herself to my mother and explained the reasons she would be visiting her, mum was very comfortable in Mary’s company and asked her to call her by her first name when asked how she would like to be addressed, this wouldn’t mean anything to anyone other than myself as I know mum only asks people she really likes to call her that, so I felt we were off to a good start.

I felt Mary went above and beyond what would be expected of her as an occupational therapist.

Not only did she assess mum's needs and made detailed observations of how the carers could improve mum's wellbeing but she took the time to sit and listen to mum in a very caring and professional manner which encouraged mum to express herself which is unusual for mum.

I feel that Mary and the dementia outreach team offer an amazing service to the vulnerable residents at care homes who perhaps otherwise may not have a voice or the help they need.

I feel that Mary has a difficult job in terms of balancing the time she needs between people who are deemed to be urgent cases and those who are lower down the scale but still need the support and expertise to enable them to have a better quality of life than they currently have, it must be so hard to have to juggle time/work hours with the differing needs of the service users, how do you prioritise when there are so many people in need?

The suggestions Mary made to the care home to improve mums quality of life have made a big difference, mum is less agitated and aggressive now the carers are following her advice, they are striving to maintain her dignity and are helping her to make choices for herself instead of making them for her which often happens to people with dementia.

I feel mum’s quality of life as a sufferer of dementia has improved and therefore so has her mental health and well being.

Hats off to the hardworking NHS dementia outreach team for all the work you do when the work load is at breaking point and the pay doesn’t reflect the impact you make on society, which in my experience is considerable.