"My experience of the older people service"

Advanced age, health issues and a diagnosis of dementia has meant my mother could no longer live alone and consequently my life and my husband's has changed completely in the last three years. I was obliged to drop everything and come back from living abroad at extremely short notice and was joined by him shortly after. 

A major improvement to my situation has been brought about by Sophia, not the first social worker or other official figure, like dementia nurses, that I have been in contact with but certainly the first I feel has really understood my situation and done the best she could to improve it with all the means available to her. A significant change she has achieved are in the befriending hours I now have that better meet my needs. My husband and I have some respite together twice a week but also less anxiety when a medical appointment is needed where both of us must attend. 

Sophia was able to put some of my worries in perspective and alleviate the stress they were causing me. Some of the previous help, no doubt well-intentioned, consisted in a tsunami of textbook information or advice that was far too much to digest never mind act upon for me.

My only regret is that having found a real point of reference you then lose it due to the current system where a specific social worker must close your case when the main issues have been addressed.