What would a dementia friendly airport look like?

[jeevan]

Hi everyone,

I work for Alzheimer's Society in the West Midlands, and part of my role is talking to businesses and organisations about how they may be more 'dementia friendly'.

I am meeting with an airport in a couple of weeks, and would be really interested to hear your thoughts on what a more dementia friendly airport would look like. I'm hoping to get some direction from you on what they could do to better support people with dementia and their carers when using the airport.

What are your experiences?

What worked well?

What changes could the airport make to be better?

If you prefer, you can email me on jeevan.jones@alzheimers.org.uk

Thanks!

 

[di65]

It probably wouldn't need to LOOK different, except for larger toiletting facilities so that carers could accompany the sufferer and would have staff trained to recognise who the sufferer is. There is nothing worse than being continually pulled out of the line for a 'random' search. This happened every time except one when we travelled overseas a few years ago. I know that the staff are trained to look for people that are 'uncomfortable' in their surroundings, but a dementia or AD patient isn't likely to a terrorist threat.
There will probably be many other requirements that other people may suggest, but as my husband is still in the early stages, his needs list isn't that big yet.
I hope your suggestions are taken seriously

 

[Noorza]

When I took my son abroad he was extremely frightened due to the different sights, sounds. smells, language etc due to autism. I use this as a basis for these suggestions and my experience with dementia.

We were allowed not to queue, to try to keep my son calm and unagitated was very difficult as the business of the airport whirled around us. I was allowed to jump the queue and take him to a quiet area on the other side of boarding. I didn't feel bad as I knew we would all be taking off at the same time.

Toilets can be an issue, and sometimes urgency, so pre planned keys to disabled toilets and their positions within the airport could for some be a godsend.

A dementia helper to meet and greet at the airport and explain, support the process. It may be that the partner of the dementia patient may need to do things but it is hard to organise bags and stop the dementia patient from wandering for example. If there was a dementia helper to stay and calm the person with dementia which in turn will relieve the anxiety of the partner/carer, this could be useful.

If there is time to spend waiting a quiet room such as they use for VIP guests would be useful with dementia friendly activities that could be used, just a room with jigsaws, activity aprons, painted in calming colours away from the hustle and bustle. If that room could have a bathroom "en-suite" all the better.


To be met at the other side by another person who speaks English or other relevant language clearly. I just remember my son hearing Spanish speakers and being terrified because he knew we couldn't speak Spanish and thought we'd never get through the holiday because we couldn't be understood. So to be understood immediately rather than even waiting to get to the other side would have been useful.

To have everyone aware from the cabin crew, to the check in people that one of the party has dementia and which one, so the carer/partner doesn't have to keep explaining would be useful.

For some there could be like a butterfly scheme as happens in hospital to identify them, for others like us it wouldn't work as under advice of the specialist she is aware of the symptoms and causes, not the names of the condition.

These are my initial thoughts am sure others will have many more.

 

[2jays]

I've not taken my mum through an airport, I do think something like Norrms purple angel would be a good idea possibly?? All staff easily aware that there is a passenger with dementia on the plane/in the airport.

Definitely less/no searching and fast tracked through security and baggage collection. somewhere quiet to be whilst waiting for the plane/baggage

I understand that this could be risky... as not all Carers could be Carers and it leaves doors open for unscrupulous people to take advantage of the security system... I have no idea how the airport could totally distinguish between honest application for help or just unscrupulous application - maybe proof of Carers allowance? But not all Carers get that allowance - letter from the GP, but not all GPs could be willing to provide or could charge for this letter and money can be tight for the family - a quiet room/keeping passengers separate from the main body of the airport - but some people need drinks/sweets/books/duty free so it would be a shame to take that "holiday experience" away from the worn out carer.

I hope this all works for you. It really would be such a help to Carers.

 

[BR_ANA]

Place to change diapers and maybe clean some smelly stuff. Place to change clothes.

 

[Izzy]

I've done lots of air travel with my husband since his diagnosis 13 years ago. In some respects it's easier now as I always arrange a wheelchair and assistance. I was particularly impressed with the service we got at Gatwick. They have a large meeting area which seves as a kind of hub for everyone who has booked assistance. We were given a pager and told we could use all the facilities of the airport and we would be paged when it was time to return to the meeting place. We were then taken to the plane by the person assisting.

Since we've used the wheelchair we gave always been taken to the front of the queue for security checks etc.

I would say that this kind of assistance would be useful for a dementia sufferer and carer.

I have been finding lately that there seems to be a growing fashion for putting one disabled access toilet in the ladies and one in the gents. This is not helpful for someone who has a carer of the opposite gender. I've had some dirty looks taking my husband into the ladies to access the loo and some sights I'd rather not have had taking him into the gents one. I have to say I gave not encountered this in an Airport but I would sincerely hope that any new facilities would be separate from ordinary loos. I also feel they should not be a shared facility with baby changing rooms. I have had to wait for what seemed liked hours with an increasingly agitated mother while twin babies were being changed.

I also wondered if a new sign could be developed for loo doors. It could go alongside the wheelchair one. Again I've had odd looks taking my husband into disabled access loos when he isn't using a wheelchair.

 

[Countryboy]

Hi Jeevan I think airports are here in UK and in Spain are easy any simple enough to follow and they all have a help desk : I have dementia and travel often never had a problem But I don’t go on my own anyway, I think the question should be how many people with Dementia use airports and travel on their own I suspect the answer would be none or very low number .

cheers Tony

 

[Izzy]

I agree Tony. Having said that being the person who has accompanied my mum who had vascular dementia and my husband who has quite advanced Alzheimer's I do think that there are ways to take potential stress out of a journey/visit to an airport.

 

[cragmaid]

Perhaps, on check in, a Dementia passenger and carer could be issued with a hi-vis type of waistcoat with a universal ( chance would be a fine thing maybe the forget me not?) symbol to be worn throughout the entire journey, the carers' could be marked as such. I know this idea makes the presumption that that all staff will have been given a thorough training but it would show which passengers need more time or greater assistance.
When I had to take my(blind AZ VasD) Mum out to Botswana via Heathrow, we made use of the BA quiet assistance lounge. but we could really do with more quiet sitting areas around the vast terminals. The Ba lounge area was a bit shabby.
A dedicated security channel permanently staffed (humph!!!) for passengers needing more time to take off shoes, coats and belts. An understanding of disabled needs in that, when faced with the metal detector arch, I had to ask someone to hold Mum's hands and feed her through because I was called through first and her white stick had to be scanned.
A lot of ideas apply to parents with children, passengers with crutches or wheelchairs or people travelling who are terrified of flying. But more advice could be provided at booking to tell passengers what to ask for or what is available at the departure airport.

 

[jeevan]

Wow, thanks so much for your thoughtful replies.

It seems a theme is recognition of carers and support for them when accompanying a person with dementia. In particular around toilets and waiting areas which I think is so important. Will certainly feedback a lot of these stories when I meet with the airport.

I imagine an airport's assisted travel service could be useful. What do you think about training for the staff to be more aware of dementia? Would that help?

I suppose that might meet your suggestion of a "dementia helper", Noorza.

I've done lots of air travel with my husband since his diagnosis 13 years ago.

It sounds like you've had plenty of experience then! What in particular has stood out as something that would make the journey through the airport easier for both you and your husband?

 

[jeevan]

It probably wouldn't need to LOOK different, except for larger toiletting facilities so that carers could accompany the sufferer and would have staff trained to recognise who the sufferer is. There is nothing worse than being continually pulled out of the line for a 'random' search. This happened every time except one when we travelled overseas a few years ago. I know that the staff are trained to look for people that are 'uncomfortable' in their surroundings, but a dementia or AD patient isn't likely to a terrorist threat.
There will probably be many other requirements that other people may suggest, but as my husband is still in the early stages, his needs list isn't that big yet.
I hope your suggestions are taken seriously

I think that's key - recognising someone isn't causing trouble, but there's a reason they are uncomfortable. Others have mentioned how they used assisted travel service, though I guess that could be a bit embarassing in the early stages of dementia. What do you think about that?

They seemed interested enough when I approached them, so hopefully they will take it on board! (No pun intended, honest...)

 

[Brucie]

Any situation where the person who has dementia is, for some reason, separated from the person who is with them.

As others have suggested, toilets is a key one - someone who has dementia may have problems on leaving a toilet in identifying the person that they had left, in crowds of travellers. This happened to my Jan on our last trip abroad.

Also, but not about the airport itself, we were told by the holiday rep not to mention Jan's dementia on the way back as she might be refused as a passenger. We had asked if we could have 3 seats across for the trip across the Atlantic if the plane was not full. When we said that it would make the trip more settled for her, that was when the advice was given.

When we made the same request 'because Jan was a nervous passenger', there was no problem, and we had the three seats.

It was our last trip away by plane.

So, dementia awareness by holiday companies and airlines is also an issue. We never did test whether the nice stewardesses in red would have been helpful to a dementia passenger - it was too scary a thing to try. In retrospect, I'm sure they would have been fine.

 

[Izzy]

It sounds like you've had plenty of experience then! What in particular has stood out as something that would make the journey through the airport easier for both you and your husband?

As I said in my post we now need to use the wheelchair service due to the distances involved between terminals etc. This has made everything much easier. I think, as mentioned by others, it would have been good in the early stages to have the assistance of someone who understood dementia and was able to take us through the different stages just as now happens with Bill in the wheelchair.

I think we may not be able to go abroad any more due to Bill's advancing dementia. Perhaps if it was possible to have a dementia trained advisor to meet us on arrival at the airport and be with us through all of the different process would mean I would think differently.

I agree with Brucie that the airline is also an issue. I don't believe I have ever actually indicated my husband has dementia. I have just asked for wheelchair assistance. It would be good to have the confidence to do this without worrying about what the reaction would be.

 

[Jessbow]

Probably not in your remit, but additional hand luggage allowance would be good - a spare set of everything for a grown up, inc pads and clothes is difficult to stuff in a very small bag.

Large loo/change space, easily access with a bsin and a bidet/shower head arrangement and somewhere to dispose of soiled pads

 

[sue38]

Personally, I find the whole experience of passing through an airport, from check-in to actually boarding the plane, a stressful experience, and I say that as a person who doesn't have dementia!

When I did travel with my dad after he had been diagnosed with dementia I would recommend the following:

1. Queues are an absolute no-no. When I travelled with someone without dementia, but in a wheelchair, we were whisked to the front of every queue. I would like to see that treatment afforded to people with dementia.

2. A quiet area, a short distance from security with comfortable seating, would be great. Airports seem now to be geared to be selling. At Manchester Airport Terminal 1 you have to meander through a confusing duty free shop to get to any form of seating area. Once you negotiate that, most seating areas are at noisy bars or restaurants. A dedicated and quiet area, within sight of an information board (you can't always leave the person with dementia to go in search of information that your flight is boarding) would be helpful.

3. As others have said, more accessible toilets, so that the carer (together with hand luggage) can accompany the person with dementia. Of course the carer may also need to pay a call (we're good but we're not superhuman) and we need to know the person is safe and not likely to wander off to an unsafe area whilst we dash to the loo. Toilets at the gate would be good too. Some airports have these, but with others it's a 10 minute walk (double that if you're caring for someone with dementia who has no perception that the flight is leaving shortly, and you don't want to increase their level of anxiety by yelling COME ON!) from the gate to the nearest toilet.

4. A general understanding from all airport employees that just because someone is acting differently it doesn't necessarily mean they want to blow up a plane .

This is a really interesting thread and I'd be really interested to know how your meeting goes.

 

[lizcunn]

Airports

As someone already mentioned queues are a no no! I feel I'm going mad with the amount of noise. I don't want to be labelled but I have been looking online for some sort of identity card where information on the person type of dementia, what scares them or agitates them, information on their next of kin and mobile number.

I recently got separated from my partner at Southampton Airport, although such a small airport, my husband has pins in his leg and was getting continually searched. I was asked to move on which deeply distressed me, I couldn't see or find where I had to move on to so I ended up on hysterics and very agitated. A secured guard grabbed me and I couldn't say anything cause I was crying so much. Eventually my husband came and explained what was wrong with me.

I guess having an identity card to show to let them know I need to stay with my carer, also some dementia awareness training as I'm sure everyone should be aware it's one of them diseases that is invisible to everything but the person that has it.

Liz

 

[elizabeth hc]

flying

We are not too bad at the airport as long as we have plenty of time and I explain what is happening to my husband. My problem is the flight when someone reclines their seat in front he really becomes agitated and angry. My only solution is get a seat in front and not recline the chair. Not much fun but not so nerve racking as he is unpredictable. Both our sons are abroad so it would be a shame if we couldn,t see them:

 

[Countryboy]

I know there are different stages of dementia and this will obviously impact on everything a person with dementia does including using airports , I have dementia and foe a few years now I book the flights including seat selection online, only carry hand luggage to take on the aircraft , print all boarding passes at home , So when I arrive at the airport all I have to do is go through security , No standing in queues not waiting for the baggage when you arrive get off the plane through customs , pick up the hire car and off on the holiday , it’s all about planning and foresight

 

[jan.s]

When I was going through airports with my husband (AD), he became very agitated by the noise and general hub hub. To be able t find somewhere quiet t sit would have been a huge help.

Also, as Izzy says, to have wheelchair support was a bonus, except the last time we flew someone at the airport decided to cancel this as Roger clearly wasn't disabled!!! She didn't understand that his disability wasn't physical and I was unable to discuss this in front of Roger.

So really what I'm saying is that the staff need to have an awareness of dementia and its impact

 

[Dagne]

To add a specific to all the mentions of problems with toilets:

My dad and grandma had to travel by air when she moved care homes. She was still able to use the toilet on her own, and needed to do so frequently due to a chronic bladder problem. Being of opposite genders, my dad would wait outside for her. One wait seemed excessive, so he started asking women leaving the restroom if they'd seen a confused lady in it. It took awhile for him to realise the restroom had another exit! She had managed to walk miles (ok, an exaggeration, but that's what it seemed like to him).

These double exit restrooms would also be dangerous for kids too old to use the same restroom as the opposite-gender parent.