Featured news article: Thomas Pocklington Trust Press Release: New dementia network will help make sight loss visible in dementia care
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In a move to have sight loss recognised as a vital factor in many cases of dementia, the sight loss charity, Thomas Pocklington Trust, is helping to forge a new movement to fight dementia. Pocklington is one of forty five organisations from the charity, public and private sectors to join forces in the new Dementia Action Alliance (DAA), launched today. The Alliance forms the largest ever united front against dementia, called today "the health and social crisis of this generation."
"For too long sight loss has been the forgotten factor in the care and support of people with dementia," said Ron Bramley, Chief Executive of Thomas Pocklington Trust. "The Dementia Action Alliance will create new impetus to improve dementia services and Pocklington will continue to work to make attention to sight loss an integral part of dementia care. Together, our aim is to transform the quality of life of people living with dementia."
Of the 750,000 people living with dementia in the UK, Thomas Pocklington Trust estimates that at least 100,000 of them have concurrent dementia and sight loss. This dual burden is often the trigger for increased care services, including a move to a care home. Dementia care currently costs the country £20bn a year.
Sight loss worsens the impact of dementia - increasing confusion and isolation, causing depression and adding fear and frustration that can trigger aggression. Supporting individuals to deal with their sight loss can reduce both the distress of dementia and the likelihood of disruptive behaviour. Yet, in previous research - summarised in a document released today, "Dementia and Sight Loss" - Pocklington has exposed a fundamental lack of awareness of sight loss among health and care professionals.
Mental health professionals acknowledged that staff in dementia services might lack the time and expertise to respond adequately to visual problems.
Sight loss professionals said the problem of joint dementia and sight loss was common and growing but they felt ill-equipped to deal with it. They had no guidelines for how to work with dementia, and were often not informed that a person might have dementia as assessments for dementia and assessments for other health issues were undertaken independently. This put their clients at risk.
"If we are to fight dementia we have to improve the wider understanding of all the factors that influence this condition. Since visual problems can have such a major impact it's essential that sight loss become visible in dementia care," said Ron Bramley.
Pocklington has already joined with the Alzheimer's Society and RNIB to form a dedicated Dementia and Sight Loss Interest Group. A key aim is to foster mutual understanding and partnership working between practitioners in dementia services and those in sight loss services.
Now, in the National Dementia Declaration, Pocklington and each of the forty five organisations of the DAA has pledged to work for radical changes in the way society responds to dementia. "We seek a similar level of change as has been seen in our society's response to cancer over recent decades," says the joint Declaration. With a combined membership of millions, the promises of these organisations have the potential to reach far and wide. As part of this Pocklington will continue to commission further research and development into dementia and sight loss.
At a launch of the Dementia Action Alliance on 26th October, Paul Burstow, Care Services Minister, said: 'Dementia is more than a health issue, it's one of the defining social challenges of our time. We have to prepare ourselves now for the impact this will have on our society as our population ages."
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Start of article
In a move to have sight loss recognised as a vital factor in many cases of dementia, the sight loss charity, Thomas Pocklington Trust, is helping to forge a new movement to fight dementia. Pocklington is one of forty five organisations from the charity, public and private sectors to join forces in the new Dementia Action Alliance (DAA), launched today. The Alliance forms the largest ever united front against dementia, called today "the health and social crisis of this generation."
"For too long sight loss has been the forgotten factor in the care and support of people with dementia," said Ron Bramley, Chief Executive of Thomas Pocklington Trust. "The Dementia Action Alliance will create new impetus to improve dementia services and Pocklington will continue to work to make attention to sight loss an integral part of dementia care. Together, our aim is to transform the quality of life of people living with dementia."
Of the 750,000 people living with dementia in the UK, Thomas Pocklington Trust estimates that at least 100,000 of them have concurrent dementia and sight loss. This dual burden is often the trigger for increased care services, including a move to a care home. Dementia care currently costs the country £20bn a year.
Sight loss worsens the impact of dementia - increasing confusion and isolation, causing depression and adding fear and frustration that can trigger aggression. Supporting individuals to deal with their sight loss can reduce both the distress of dementia and the likelihood of disruptive behaviour. Yet, in previous research - summarised in a document released today, "Dementia and Sight Loss" - Pocklington has exposed a fundamental lack of awareness of sight loss among health and care professionals.
Mental health professionals acknowledged that staff in dementia services might lack the time and expertise to respond adequately to visual problems.
Sight loss professionals said the problem of joint dementia and sight loss was common and growing but they felt ill-equipped to deal with it. They had no guidelines for how to work with dementia, and were often not informed that a person might have dementia as assessments for dementia and assessments for other health issues were undertaken independently. This put their clients at risk.
"If we are to fight dementia we have to improve the wider understanding of all the factors that influence this condition. Since visual problems can have such a major impact it's essential that sight loss become visible in dementia care," said Ron Bramley.
Pocklington has already joined with the Alzheimer's Society and RNIB to form a dedicated Dementia and Sight Loss Interest Group. A key aim is to foster mutual understanding and partnership working between practitioners in dementia services and those in sight loss services.
Now, in the National Dementia Declaration, Pocklington and each of the forty five organisations of the DAA has pledged to work for radical changes in the way society responds to dementia. "We seek a similar level of change as has been seen in our society's response to cancer over recent decades," says the joint Declaration. With a combined membership of millions, the promises of these organisations have the potential to reach far and wide. As part of this Pocklington will continue to commission further research and development into dementia and sight loss.
At a launch of the Dementia Action Alliance on 26th October, Paul Burstow, Care Services Minister, said: 'Dementia is more than a health issue, it's one of the defining social challenges of our time. We have to prepare ourselves now for the impact this will have on our society as our population ages."
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