"no person-centred care for those living with dementia"

I was struggling and tried repeatedly to get help and support to assist with care for mum, I work full time and I’m on my own when it comes to caring responsibilities for mum. I had referrals for support submitted repeatedly by Alzheimer’s Scotland but only after an AP1 was submitted at my request did I get a call from social work and it was agreed my mum needed support at home and carers were arranged to visit 3x daily. My mother has vascular dementia, and this continues to advance.

There have been multiple issues that I had to address repeatedly with co-ordinators and management to no avail I have had a meeting arranged to discuss concerns only to have it cancelled after the meeting was due to start. 

Care staff appear to be moved around like chess pieces with no concern for the individual supposedly being cared for, or communication with the family - what happened to person-centred care.

Tasks not being carried out such as support with personal care; 3 to 5min visits; Lack of important information record keeping; repeated medication errors; Failure to provide hot meals ; Lack of understanding in care for someone with dementia with comments like oh I didn’t know she had dementia; Failure to inform family of health concern; Communication issues within care staff team no apparent hand over between visits; and most of all Lack of understanding of the anxiety and extreme distress caused by lack of consistency and the constantly changing carers.

I am now being forced to look for nursing home care far too soon and mums house which she worked hard for and hoped to die in will have to be sold to self-fund this care. The care provided to those living with dementia in our community is disgusting and very far from being dementia friendly.

The most galling part of all this is that mum worked as part of the homecare team then called home helps for over 30 years in the same area team that is now supposed to be caring for her. she officially retired at 67 only to be called back to work by a social worker to support one family which she did until she was 74

My mother along with others living with dementia need regular carers who are well trained, have empathy and compassion and also understand the benefits a family centred approach can provide. The current week on week off approach and different carers at every visit in the day does not, in our experience - it leads to distress and the need for calming medication which could be avoided.