Admiral nurse
- Thread starter Rosebush
- Start date
Interested that admiral nurse is meeting both of you, my understanding is that they are there to support carers and families. I've met with my Admiral nurse once so far. She was very matter of fact when talking about the future and what to expect. I was advised to look at our financial situation, that I need to have regular breaks and that I need to have time to myself and look after myself otherwise I can't care for my husband. The one thing she said that I hadn't expected was she asked if I'd considered filling in a 'do not resuscitate form '! It hadn't crossed my mind. I'll be interested to hear of your experience and whether your nurse has any input for your husband.
The Admiral Nurse will try and help you as a carer, rather than the PWD. I've had several visits from one and mostly just talk to her. She is very easy to talk to & I enjoy the visits, so I hope you get some benefit from yours. The first time we met the Admiral Nurse my husband was rather put out that he wasn't the centre of attention. Since then I see her on my own & that works better.
Hi Beads, lovely to hear from you. We are ok OH still has his moments, but he seems a lot calmer, but very confused, since he came out of hospital I now have to help him shower and help him get dressed. How are you and OH? Lx
Hi @Rosebush I’m fine Thankyou OHs memory gets worse by the day. Pleased to hear your both ok & OH still calm. Hope all goes well with admiral nurse for you. Speak soon take care . Axx
I am glad to hear that professionals are advising do not resuscitate. As I mention almost weekly on this site, we have a major medical form which excludes all treatment but treatment for pain. We have also included antibiotics. It sounds harsh but it is what my husband wanted. Not so easy to get agreement from the doctors in the family , but they are on board now.
I have found our Admiral Nurse to be excellent. She is willing to talk about any concerns rather than having the "we don't talk about that, it may never happen" attitude I've found on the couple of carer courses I've attended. My understanding is that the Admiral Nurse is there to provide emotional support and advice to the carer and their loved one. She certainly talks to my wife as much as me. What she doesn't do is to nurse in the sense of diagnosing, changing dressings or helping to wash.
We're lucky enough to have direct access to an Admiral Nurse but I've heard many good things about their phone support service.
We're lucky enough to have direct access to an Admiral Nurse but I've heard many good things about their phone support service.
Hello everyone, my first time here. I have had a few appointments with my Admiral nurse and she has been invaluable. We talk about how I feel and how I am coping. She has a quick chat with both of us then it is all about me! Just talking to her is a release for me and when appropriate she offers tips and advice but never tells me what I should do.
I asked my Admiral nurse recently if she would have any contact with my husband, she told me no that's not part of her role. I was concerned that she is talking to me about things based only on what I told her and the letter I showed her from the consultant. I worry that she thinks he's worse than he is. I told her I felt there was no support for my husband and nobody had talked to.him about how he feels about his diagnosis and situation. I feel he has no.understanding of how his dementia affects me.
Hi, I have been diagnosed this year with Vascular dementia. Alzheimer’s have been very good, but I don’t think there are any Admiral Nurses in our area, even our A.E department of our local hospital closes overnight.
Our nearest hospital is Bristol 20 miles away. And I have no transport.
I think it is easier to find a Macmillan Nurse. Although they deal with cancer
Our nearest hospital is Bristol 20 miles away. And I have no transport.
I think it is easier to find a Macmillan Nurse. Although they deal with cancer
@katydid
I live in Switzerland. My daughter is a doctor and she got me the paperwork. An old friend of the family and my husband worked who is a doctor and gereatrics specialist actually walked him through the paperwork. But that was many years ago now. He would not be capable of making these decisions now. I am grateful we did these things early on in our process.
We used the major medical directive and then added additional specific instructions.
Ask someone for the major medical directive forms for your country...and then add a rider with your husbands specifics. He must be able to sign and agree to the conditions. That is where our trusted doctor friend helped him. Good luck
This is the Admiral Nurse site.
https://www.dementiauk.org/get-support/admiral-nursing/
You can find out there if there are any in your area.
Only a guess but, in a totally different field, I've come across otherwise helpful people who say "not part of my role".
There are a lot of new Admiral Nurses, I assume most of them come from the NHS or similar large organisation where they are expected to keep within very strict guidelines. An Admiral Nurse has much more freedom to work on their own initiative. This can be a major culture shock for the individual and may take a year or more to come to terms with.
If your husband can accept it, make sure he's in the room with you when the Admiral Nurse arrives. Maybe get him to join in the conversation, throw in the occasional "What do you think?" or "That's right isn't it?". If it's really going well you might "need to nip to the loo".
Hi BeardyD
I meet my Admiral nurse away from home because I told her we only have the one room at home where we can talk. I couldn't talk easily about my husband and other things if he was in the same room. It seems very definite that she will never meet him. I'm due to see her again next week.
I meet my Admiral nurse away from home because I told her we only have the one room at home where we can talk. I couldn't talk easily about my husband and other things if he was in the same room. It seems very definite that she will never meet him. I'm due to see her again next week.
I have a different issue regarding the Admiral Nurse. I have been introduced to ‘mine’ and I just know I won’t get on with her. We have an appointment soon and I don’t want to see her. The rest of the memory team say she is lovely but I can’t work with her. There is no choice, there are others but you can’t change who you see. I really don’t want to offend her and I desperately need support. My husband has now been discharged from the memory service and I feel cast adrift.
