Dementia care

Our Dementia nurse specialists help and support people living with dementia, and their family/carer, whilst they are a patient at Colchester or Ipswich hospitals.

Our specialists work Monday to Friday from 8am-4pm.

The role of the specialist nurse:

• work with people living with dementia, along with their family, carers and hospital staff, to make their hospital stay as comfortable as possible
• provide education, support and guidance to staff and families/carers to plan and deliver the patient’s care
• signpost into local support services

 This is me

‘This Is me’ is a personal profile developed by the Alzheimer’s Society that gives useful information about a person with dementia.

It helps staff to see the person first and not the disease and it can support person-centred care planning.

It can be used for anyone who is living with dementia, delirium or other communication difficulties.

If you can, please complete one yourself, or on behalf of someone you care for and pass this to the hospital team.

Alzheimers website – This is me.

Useful links and contacts

Colchester

• Colchester Dementia Helpline – 01206 228 975
• Colchester Memory Assessment Service – 01206 228 970
• Carers First – 0300 3031 555
• Essex Social Care – 0345 603 7630
• Age Concern Colchester – 01206 368 420

Ipswich

• Dementia Together – 0808 168 8000
• Dementia Intensive Support Team (east) – 01473 891 733
  The Dementia Intensive Support Team works with people with dementia or suspected dementia.  They will provide you and your family with support in the event of a dementia related crisis, to avoid acute hospital admission. They can also offer advice and information on dementia and delirium to carers. They also signpost to other organisations that can help care for someone with a dementia.
• Community Memory Assessment Service (CMAS) – 01473 296 194
  Many people experience problems with declining memory. The effects will vary from person to person and may occur for different reasons. CMAS is for people of any age who live in East Suffolk and have been referred by their GP due to concerns about their memory. The primary aim is to confirm or exclude a diagnosis of dementia. CMAS offers help with the following: Holistic memory assessment, signposting to other support services, diagnosis or non-diagnosis of dementia, some post diagnostic psychosocial interventions, access to dementia medication if appropriate.
• Suffolk Social Care / Customer First – 0800 917 1109
  Suffolk Social care services can help you if you need practical support due to illness or disability, care for someone because of their illness or disability. You may benefit from social care if you’re: finding it harder to live independently in your own home, unable to find help yourself, for example from your family, your naturally connected network, local services or your community.
• Suffolk Family Carers – 01473 835 477
  A family carer is anybody, of any age, who looks after someone with a long term illness, mental health difficulty or disability who could not cope day to day without this help.
  Becoming an unpaid family carer is often a gradual process, like the changes affecting person you care for. The work of caring gradually impacts your daily life, restricting your ability to get time for yourself. Because of this most people see themselves as a ‘wife’, ‘husband’, ‘daughter’, ‘son, ‘brother’, ‘sister’ or ‘friend’, rather than as a family carer. Not recognising you are a family carer can be a real barrier to accessing the vital support available to you. If this resonates with you please get in touch or register with Suffolk Family Carers, so you can start receiving the support you are entitled to.

East Suffolk and North Essex (NHS) Foundation Trust – support services

• Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) 0800 783 7328
• Chaplaincy

Hospital switchboards

• Colchester 01206 747 474
• Ipswich 01473 712 233

National organisations

• Alzheimer’s Society  0333 150 3456
• Alzheimer’s Society Dementia Connect Service – This is a support service for people with dementia, their families and carers that you can self-refer to
• Dementia UK – 0800 888 6677
• Healthwatch    03000 683 000
• Age UK    08000 556 112
• iCARE APP – This information resource is created by those with dementia / their families and professionals offering information on types of dementia, medication, behaviour and more
• Talking Point – Dementia Talking Point is a helpful online community where anyone who is affected by dementia can receive valuable support.