Dementia care through rose coloured spectacles

[Goingitalone]

Hi Angela,

I wonder if Martin Lewis would be interested in this cause. I know he's the 'Money Saving Expert' but this is money saving in a way, isn't it? And he has a section on his website about grant grabbing. Just a thought. He's well known in the media.

Would the AS be able to provide a small grant? Or AGE UK?

It's such a shame. Your day centre could be a model for this 'Big Society' and I could see it in future as a franchise, you know, a framework for future day centres in places all over the country.

It sounds like you have the design right. All you need is the funding.

Is there anything we could do to help? An email petition to the government or something? Feel free to pm me if there's anything I could do, Angela.

All the best and well done to your Mum.

Maggie

 

[danny]

Hi Maggie.Thankyou so much for your post,I really appreciate you taking an interest.

Unbelievable as it may seem,we ,my mum and myself,have not had one single response from all the emails sent over easter.

So I guess I am the epitome of your signature,`Goingitalone`

Strange though I have reached a sort of inner calm,what will be will be.We are getting busier and it is all due to word of mouth,that is enough for me,so I will keep talking sweetly to my bank manager for a month or two and then I will be able to say I have got there without any help and will have alot more satisfaction.

 

[Jancis]

You know I'm wondering if it's because you are in Cornwall. I mean it's a bit cut off down there and the air does make people quite lethargic!

 

[danny]

Do you know Jancis, I think you may have hit the nail on the head.

Of course you are so right,I am in another country.I am always getting asked what planet am I on

I had an email to day asking if I could pop up to Bristol to explain how a CIC works with dementia services.It is a 3hr drive for me to `pop up` to Bristol.

 

[JPG1]

Sorry, but I may just have to disagree with you Jancis!

The most likely problem is that they are all suffering from an overdose of CPs - known locally as Cornish Pasties. A CP a day is not likely to encourage the little cells that need to be jiggled, if those little cells are to be able to understand the impact of big cells like Danny.

Either that or too much clotted cream from just across the border!

Danny, you meant a 3hr drive each way! That's a big ask.

Talking of 'asks' - have you asked the Alz Soc for support? Surely, if anyone is geared up to understand what you're doing, it should be the AS. Just a thought, but of course you may already have gone down that road.

Are your local sardines any use? Perhaps they could be enlisted to be force fed to those who don't seem to be connecting?

 

[danny]

I haven`t asked because I can guess the answer

It would take me 4hrs each way to Bristol.I would also have to join a motorway somewhere up the line and I have never driven on one before,we don`t have any down here.

I would also have to spend 2 nights there because I can`t drive in the dark either,so I best take a train!!!

 

[Jancis]

Oh dear, now you'll get me started. The English border is the problem apparently, don't risk it at night!

 

[danny]

Oh Jancis,you have made me smile

I fell out with my husband 10yrs ago and told him I was going to my mums,who lives in Lancashire.I got as far as the border,spent the night in a travelodge and drove back down to home the next morning.

 

[chucky]

My friend had a fall out with her hubby and decided to leave him, i said come to me. She appeared a few hours later, and out i went to bring in her "luggage" which turned out to be 60 cigs and a can of hairspray! We laughed so much and still do years later. Needless to say she spent the night and toddled off home the next morning.

 

[danny]

I didn`t take any luggage with me

Another reason to come home, no lippy

 

[danny]

I do like to continue or finish a tale

My story has evolved during my time on TP,things are happening at a fast pace and I find myself at a crossroads, not knowing exactly which way to turn.

Our current lease expires in dec. Our landlord has agreed a years extension on the understanding we actively seek to purchase the property.I would have to spend the next 18 months trying to raise the finance to do this, a bit of a nightmare at present since I could not find any help to support the project in the first instance.
The other problem we are facing is that with increasing numbers we need more chairs and toilet facilities!!!! My bank won`t give us an overdraft because we aren`t in profit!!!
Our first years accounts are not good reading, but how could they be with a business start up.

On the positive side, we do have a couple of potential property investors looking into the possibility of buying a property and leasing it back to us.They won`t consider the property we are in now because the price the owner wants is greatly inflated and he will not budge on price.

The centre itself is flourishing, I just wish I could spend my days with our guests instead of all the background work.We are supporting around 60 people a week now,including people on our CST group, the memory cafe and our day guests.

Fortunately, I have to hand, courtesy of this forum,an answer to nearly every question we are asked!!!!

We are very much supporting the carers as much as their relatives, it sort of goes hand in hand if that makes sense.

Another big problem is providing true person centred care,when you have such a diverse group of people from so many cultures and backgrounds at different stages of memory loss,
it is turning into a military operation of activity planning,obtaining resources etc etc.

Many of our guests have physical /mobility problems as well and we need a huge room to accomodate all the wheelchairs,zimmer frames and wheelie walkers!!!!!

The introduction of personal budgets is now greatly helping our cause and many of our guests have been able to increase the number of days they can afford to come.

If anything,our social service referrals are increasing more than our privately funded guests which many of you may find suprising in this climate of cut backs etc.

Someone asked me what did I base this model of care on last week. I thought long and hard about this.I told them it was a sort of mix between Maslow, David Sheard,Enid Blyton,Last of the Summer Wine and Only Fools and Horses.When I wrote this down it spelt the word MODEL,how strange.

I supose in reality we have created `Home `for a few hours, a place/moment in time where people feel happy,secure,loved and valued.Quite simple really

 

[thatwoman]

Hi Angela,

It's lovely to read your thread! It makes me feel optimistic that people like you exist.

I have had a very emotional week, with my father being put on the Liverpool Pathway on Monday, taken off it on Tuesday, then wavering again on Wednesday. He is a man who will not go before he is ready (he was notorious for his appalling timekeeping at home. He arrived 4 hours late for Christmas dinner the first time I cooked it in my own home. Don't know why I expected anything different now!). But what kept me going was the way Dad's nursing home cared for all of us at this terrible time. I wrote on TP a week ago about the issues I had with Dad's care, and I will have to address those issues, but I saw something special this week. I feel sure that your guests and their carers see that "something special" when they visit you.

We've been through the highs and lows with you, and I'm sure you'll take the right turning at this crossroads! Good luck to you, in all your endeavours. I'm sure that all your friends on TP will be with you wherever you go.

Keep on fighting the good fight,

Love and hugs,

Sue xxx

 

[danny]

Thanks Sue,you are always,always there and I greatly value that.

I hope that things work out for you too.I know you are going through really hard times at the moment and that is why I appreciate you more than ever for taking time out for me.

 

[thatwoman]

Thanks, Angela!

Feeling sorry for myself just now. Got to go to hospital on Tuesday, Wednesday and Sunday for more tests, and can't really know what will happen for Dad. However, I'm sure that he will be ok because he is loved by the staff at his home, and that was apparent from the way they were when he had his stroke this week, and the way he responded to them.

But I'll be back, sooner or later! It really does give me hope to know that there are caring people like you out there. I always look out for your thread. When you think of how far you've come, it's just amazing!

Love and hugs,

Sue xxx

 

[Goingitalone]

Hi Angela,

How pleased I was to see this thread pop up again.

I'm so sorry you don't have the support of the finance industry in what you are doing. I'm not really surprised, though. I can imagine how it might look on a balance sheet and some things just can't be counted in monetary terms. You need a bank manager with an elderly relative, could you go round all the banks in the area and see which managers look around retirement age?

I wish I could offer some practical help. I do have a walking frame, a commode and some washable chair pads if they would help reduce some costs a little? Mum won't be needing them now.

You're a STAR, Angela. Love the MODEL.

Big hugs,

Maggie

 

[danny]

Hi Maggie, thankyou for popping in

Your offer is extremely kind,sadly the shipping I expect would cost a small fortune,but thankyou so much for the lovely gesture.

One of the property investors I am in talks with at the minute has a father with dementia and a mother in law.Fingers crossed.

Take care Maggie.

 

[TinaT]

Dear Danny,

Not much I can write except to say that you must keep your chin up. All the problems you face are enough to 'drown' a lesser person than yourself. I hope that you have the home support you need and the financial support you so badly need. There is nothing like financial worries to cause trouble at home. A few years ago I'm sure you would have got some grant or another, nowadays that is much more problematic.

SS are sending more people to you because they recognise the wonderful work you do! Because their own LA owned support system is being broken down, they are increasingly having to use the 'market place' to accommodate the people who need their help. It isn't a surprise to me that they are using your service more and more. It's a tribute to the work and value for money you are giving them.

God bless you and I hope that your ship continues to sail.

xxTinaT

 

[Izzy]

Sending positive vibes for the future of your centre. xx

 

[danny]

Thanks Tina

I was born with a sugar butty in my mouth instead of a silver spoon and have always had to fight for what I wanted Must be the northern upbringing

Thanks Izzy

 

[Jancis]

Our current lease expires in dec. Our landlord has agreed a years extension on the understanding we actively seek to purchase the property.I would have to spend the next 18 months trying to raise the finance to do this, a bit of a nightmare at present since I could not find any help to support the project in the first instance.
The other problem we are facing is that with increasing numbers we need more chairs and toilet facilities!!!! My bank won`t give us an overdraft because we aren`t in profit!!!
Our first years accounts are not good reading, but how could they be with a business start up.

The centre itself is flourishing, I just wish I could spend my days with our guests instead of all the background work.We are supporting around 60 people a week now,including people on our CST group, the memory cafe and our day guests.

I am amazed! Your dream has become a reality. It used to be a well known and accepted fact that it takes a new business 3 years to turn into profit. I wish I had some connections to sympathetic business financiers who could help you. And it's such a shame that you need to now find a new property as it sounded absolutely perfect, (although sounds like you might be outgrowing it?) You need to develop your 'model' now it's working. It may sound like business bullsxxx but it's what the financial fraternity relates to.

Hope you can stay the course as it's such a wonderful venture.
Love Jancisx