In 2022 Dementia was the leading cause of death in England and Wales, while many charities exist, doing great work, we believe that none provide the service we will be offering. We will fund professional carers to visit and provide much-needed respite to family carers at their own home.
The respite we will fund, is to protect the health and wellbeing of family carers of qualifying Buckinghamshire-based dementia patients. The carers we will provide, will be dementia-trained from organisations operating under the umbrella of the Quality Care Commission.
Many medical conditions enable patients and their families to receive Continuing HealthCare (CHC) by the NHS with financial assistance. Shockingly, dementia patients do not automatically qualify. As a result, those with means are able to seek private care, whilst many of those without, fall between the cracks and are left for a family carer to care for them.
These valuable carers are the hardest hit, often having issues of their own but trying to do the utmost for their patient. The outcome is that often they are physically and mentally exhausted, suffering a toxic mix of guilt and bereavement for the virtual loss of a loved one.
This is where Dementia Carer’s Respite comes in, as the charity that cares for the family carers themselves.
- We are looking to form an “expert panel” of dementia family carers. If you are a practicing dementia family carer and comfortable to talk about it, we would like to talk to you.
- We need volunteers with 5-7 hours a week to spare to help with the running of this charity. If you have skills that would benefit the charity, we would love you to join us.
- Are you able to empathise with the desperate plight of family carers - watching their loved one virtually disappear before their eyes with the effective loss of their own life as they spend 24/7 caring for them, without even a few hours of respite? If you are, please donate - even a small amount will help.
Andrew Ketteringham, former director of external affairs at Alzheimer’s Society and Vice Chair of Alzheimer’s Disease International, says, “I am delighted to see the need being recognised in Buckinghamshire and a charity being established to meet that need”.
