Pathways Through Dementia Blog

There was a brilliant edition of Money Box Live on Radio Four yesterday when Alan Eccles, the Public Guardian, answered enquiries from the public about the workings of his office (Office of the Public Guardian – administrative arm of the Court of Protection). He highlighted a helpine for people who want to report attorneys they Read More

So my sponsored run passed its £500 target and with our My Donate page holding £135 at the moment I have raised £631. It was worth the pain! An old pedometer I own unreliably informed me that jogging to our local shops and back = 5K. Turns out, it doesn’t. As professional Park Runners streamed Read More

I was very sad to read that Jimmy Hill has been diagnosed with dementia. There has been much press coverage about the fact that his wife and solicitor are joint power of attorney for his financial affairs. Several comments from the family have been published which suggest that as a result of this financial arrangement Read More

After a quiet summer everything is starting up again for the Autumn: I am speaking to Westminster Memory Service next week and Admiral Nurses next month (all our talks are advertised on our free App which you can find in your App Store or on iTunes searching for Dementia SOS). Next week I am also Read More

This month Carers UK published the results of a survey undertaken with 3000 carers titled 'State of Caring'. Here is some information and statistics from that survey which highlight why our work to support carers through our talks and seminars is so important: "Caring is becoming part of life for more and more of us Read More

The Daily Mail reports today that a man who has dementia has decided to go to Dignitas. The assisted dying debate is frought with ethical dilemmas and moral difficulties but it is important to focus closely on the messages that organisations such as Dignity in Dying are trying to convey: the Mail article mentions the Read More

Since Christmas I have been working with our Trustees to register our charity with the Charities Commission. In addition to this we have developed an App and are in discussion with a national firm of solicitors who are interested in sponsoring it. Thirdly, after a wonderful year with the Athena Network I was in two Read More

The concept of the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards was being considered when I first started working directly with the laws that concern our client group, so I will always have a particular fondness for them! For the first time, legislators were recognising the fact that we should not force people into care homes or any Read More

My Legal Action Group magazine, in an article on continuing care, suggests the following: "Potentially it is useful for both PCTs and those advising individuals wishing to challenge eligibility decisions to check their local eligibility patterns. Unusual patterns may well indicate problems with local processes and policies which need to be addressed." The Department of Read More

Clearly one of my New Year's resolutions must be to update this Blog more regularly! When I had my first Trustees meeting we agreed not to set any targets for the year as such and thought we would see how the year panned out. It has gone really well with me delivering 7 talks to Read More