Cognitive Impairment and Dementia Pathway · Impairment and Dementia Pathway’ (the Pathway). The...
4
Cognitive Impairment and Dementia Pathway co NN ec T Alzheimers Wellington Newsletter – Issue 109 – Autumn 2015 N E W Z E A L A N D Alzheimers Wellington In the Autumn issue of Connect 2014, Verna Schofield gave the background to the New Zealand Framework of Dementia Care and expressed her hope that this document will bring about action making it a’ living document that brightens lives’. Well we have some positive news! One of those actions is the ‘Cognitive Impairment and Dementia Pathway’ (the Pathway). The Pathway, which has been available since late last year, provides guidance, resources and support for GP’s and other health providers as they respond to people presenting with symptoms of dementia. The pathway is a tool that can be used to support people throughout their journey with a dementia. Our educator, Emma Fromings, has been involved in the initial workshops introducing GP’s and practice nurses to the Pathway. Emma will continue to play a role in supporting medical practices as they begin to implement the Pathway over the coming months. It is anticipated that the Pathway will help ensure an earlier and quicker diagnosis of dementia. This in turn, will lead to an increase in referrals to the right services at the right time, e.g. Alzheimers Wellington. Many clients experience early difficulties when first approaching the family GP with concerns about a family members deteriorating cognition. These few examples show how the Pathway will assist medical practices, giving them professional tools, guidelines and strategies to use: Making life better for all people affected by dementia | Kia piki te ora mo nga tangata mate porewarewa • The Pathway encourages medical practices to screen for dementia rather than assume a patient has ‘normal old age forgetfulness’. • Guidelines on what questions to ask at an initial consultation are on the pathway. Answers to these will indicate whether further tests may be required. • The pathway recommends three types of cognitive tests and gives guidelines to assist the GP to choose the test most suitable for an individual patient and how to conduct the test. • The GP is shown exactly what tests to do, and when. • When tests and symptoms are consistent with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), with no other evidence of a dementia, GP’s are instructed to follow up by repeating tests in 6 months time. As although some patients with MCI will improve, and some will stay the same, some patients will progress to developing a dementia. • The Pathway puts emphasis on the importance of getting a history from the family to assist with making a diagnosis. Where appropriate, the family will be asked to complete a set questionnaire from the Pathway. The document is ‘alive’ and we are confident that it will brighten and lighten lives as it comes into common usage. Do ask your GP about using the Cognitive Impairment and Dementia Pathway to help on your own journeys.
Transcript of Cognitive Impairment and Dementia Pathway · Impairment and Dementia Pathway’ (the Pathway). The...
Cognitive Impairment and Dementia Pathway
coNNecTA l z h e i m e r s We l l i n g t o n N e w s l e t t e r – I s s u e 1 0 9 – A u t u m n 2 0 1 5
NE
W Z E A L A ND
Alzheimers Wellington
In the Autumn issue of Connect 2014, Verna Schofield gave the background to the New Zealand Framework of Dementia Care and expressed her hope that this document will bring about action making it a’ living document that brightens lives’.
Well we have some positive news! One of those actions is the ‘Cognitive Impairment and Dementia Pathway’ (the Pathway). The Pathway, which has been available since late last year, provides guidance, resources and support for GP’s and other health providers as they respond to people presenting with symptoms of dementia. The pathway is a tool that can be used to support people throughout their journey with a dementia.
Our educator, Emma Fromings, has been involved in the initial workshops introducing GP’s and practice nurses to the Pathway. Emma will continue to play a role in supporting medical practices as they begin to implement the Pathway over the coming months.
It is anticipated that the Pathway will help ensure an earlier and quicker diagnosis of dementia. This in turn, will lead to an increase in referrals to the right services at the right time, e.g. Alzheimers Wellington.
Many clients experience early difficulties when first approaching the family GP with concerns about a family members deteriorating cognition. These few examples show how the Pathway will assist medical practices, giving them professional tools, guidelines and strategies to use:
Making life better for all people affected by dementia | Kia piki te ora mo nga tangata mate porewarewa
• The Pathway encourages medicalpractices to screen for dementia rather than assume a patient has ‘normal old age forgetfulness’.
• Guidelines on what questions toask at an initial consultation are on the pathway. Answers to these will indicate whether further tests may be required.
• The pathway recommends threetypes of cognitive tests and gives guidelines to assist the GP to choose the test most suitable for an individual patient and how to conduct the test.
• The GP is shown exactly whattests to do, and when.
• When tests and symptoms areconsistent with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), with no other evidence of a dementia, GP’s
are instructed to follow up by repeating tests in 6 months time. As although some patients with MCI will improve, and some will stay the same, some patients will progress to developing a dementia.
• ThePathwayputsemphasisontheimportance of getting a history from the family to assist with making a diagnosis. Where appropriate, the family will be asked to complete a set questionnaire from the Pathway.
The document is ‘alive’ and we are confident that it will brighten and lighten lives as it comes into common usage.
Do ask your GP about using the Cognitive Impairment and Dementia Pathway to help on your own journeys.
Have you Heard Alzheimers Wellington Manager, Nigel Heard
Happy New Year, it’s been a busy start and Christmas is already just a distant blur. In January alone, we received more professional referrals than we usually receive in the whole first quarter. We were very active in 2014 assisting in the development, and now implementation, of the Cognitive Impairment and Dementia Pathway. As outlined on the front page, the Pathway has the potential to positively change the environment we operate in. We continue to recruit volunteers and with the growth in our service delivery they play an increasingly important role working alongside our community workers. Opportunities currently exist for service volunteers and for a new education volunteer. See details under ‘The Team’ on our website. Thanks to funding from the Lotteries Commission, we were again able to treat our volunteers to a special Christmas lunch (only the second time we’ve been able to do this). Special thanks to supporters Suzy and Jolly Mike for all their efforts in catering and hosting this event at their home.Always the best thing at the end of each year is to look at the feedback we’ve received from clients. Feedback which demonstrates the importance of why we are here: to make life better for all those affected by dementia. Much of the feedback brings a gulp, people helped back from the very end of their tether. The road ahead is still hard for them, but they are so very grateful for the support. Support that is available only through the generosity of volunteers, funders and donors.Thank you. I look forward to another year working together and making life better for even more people affected by dementia.
Making life better for all people affected by dementia | Kia piki te ora mo nga tangata mate porewarewa2
Events Round Up
Sadly, no photos of another great event:Melbourne Cup 2014 as celebrated by Service Resources and their clients. Not only did they throw an awesome event, but they raised a fantastic $1,344 from their clients, and then matched the amount to make the total $2,688 for the night. Thank you Service Resources – you’re all winners in our race book!!
Lunch group enjoys fish’n’chips and hats in the park.
Right: Peter Page (left) Master of Hinemoa-Kairangi Lodge and Bob Hastie Secretary of Hutt Valley Masonic Lodge. Thanks to donations from these two Lodges, the AED is available for community use at our premises at 55 Hutt Road.
Left: Mike Simmis, (left) CEO of Pelorus Trust with Corey Burrowes from Wellington Free Ambulance, stand beside a new community defibrillator purchased with funds generously granted by Pelorus Trust.
Volunteers (and staff) enjoy a Christmas lunch hosted and catered by super supporters Suzy and Jolly Mike at their home in Maungaraki.
Making life better for all people affected by dementia | Kia piki te ora mo nga tangata mate porewarewa 3
Making things easier Sometimes, when people are first concerned about dementia, they can be reluctant to reach out and ask for help. While it is highly advisable to have a conversation and a personal assessment by a professional Alzheimers Community Worker, not everyone is comfortable with that, especially when first experiencing the impact of a dementia in their lives.
There is a wealth of useful and practical information on our website. A new website is to be launched soon. At the time of going to print we haven’t yet seen the new website (the national office of Alzheimers NZ are managing this), but like all things new, we can expect it to be ‘bigger and better’.
Here’s an (edited) example of practical information from just one page on the website:
Making things easier – for the days when things that are usually familiar to you, become unfamiliar.
For example•Youmaygetlostgoingintotown•A favourite park may not look the
same
•You may not recognise which wayto turn
Suggestions•Don’tbeafraidtoaskforhelp•Carryamobilephonewithnumbers
of family and friends preset into it•Tell people you have a memory
problem and need assistance•Takesomeonewithyouwhenyou
go out•Iflostdon’tkeeptryingtofindyour
way - ask somebody•Tell shopkeepers at shops you
visit regularly or your local library about your diagnosis. This avoids any problems of “leaving without paying”
Alzheimers Wellington can provide you with a card with your name, address, phone number and emergency contact name and phone number on it, to keep in your purse, pack or wallet. See the back page for contact information.
You can see other articles, and the remainder of this article from links on this page: http://www.alzheimers.org.nz/help-support/i-have-dementia
In 2015 Alzheimers Wellington’s Executive Committee will be focusing on how to support even better dementia services for the people of the Wellington region. We know we can expect more demand for services, and want to be sure that not only can we meet the needs of new clients, but also that we are delivering services as and when they are needed.
We are very interested in feedback from people involved in our services; people with a dementia and their families, volunteers, members, the professionals we work with and other community groups. We plan to undertake consultation with various stakeholders this year and we also welcome your feedback at any stage. Please do get in touch to tell us what you feel we could do better, as well as what we do well. We will build this into our planning for improvements.
This year in September, as well as our annual fundraising street collection, we will be participating in the national Memory Walk coordinated by Alzheimers NZ. We will provide you with details nearer the time. This was a very successful awareness raising event last year around the country. We hope many of you will walk with us, joining with us to raise awareness amongst the community for Alzheimers and dementia. It should be a fun and sociable event for everyone, whatever your walking ability!
With 2015 well underway, the Executive Committee wishes you a wonderful year. The whole team at Alzheimers Wellington is committed to working with you to make our services really valuable for people affected by Alzheimers or another dementia.
From the Chair with Frances Blyth
Nigel Wynn with Judy and Greg Best.
Our PeopleJude and Greg BestNow here’s an inspirational story: Greg and Jude Best are supporting friends affected by Alzheimers disease . Nigel Wynn was only 46 when diagnosed with early onset Alzheimers disease. He, his wife Tania and children Victoria, Alex and Oscar are stalwart supporters of Alzheimers Wellington, and Nigel represents people with a dementia on the Alzheimers NZ Board. Greg and Jude are not only supporting the Wynn’s by ‘being there’, being friends through difficult times – they’re running a marathon and raising vital funds and awareness!!I say ‘they’ as Greg was running and Jude coaching. Now, because of injury, it’s Jude running and Greg coaching, although Greg may participate as a walker. We think that’s pretty awesome. And, going by the comments on their fundraising page, so do their friends!!
Displaying what I suspect is a typically positive outlook, Jude described the training like this – “It’s great, I can eat what I like, including ice-cream everyday!” As she hasn’t run for 30 years, I suspect there’s a lot more to it than that though!
The event, Motatapu 2015, is on the 7th March. If you would like to show your support please visit http://goo.gl/UwFCpx or search for Greg Best on the fundraise online website.
Thanks Jude and Greg – your surname says it all – the Best’s!!
Alzheimers Wellington55 Hutt Road, Petone0800 004 001Nigel Heard – Manager04 939.0133 [email protected] O’Hare – Team Leader & Wellington Community Worker 04 939.0131 [email protected] Annie Manning – Hutt Community Worker 04 972.2594 [email protected] Trish Howard – Kapiti Community Worker 04 297.3179 [email protected] Jodie Alexander – Wellington Community Worker 04 938.8943 [email protected] Crawshaw – Administrator04 972.2595 [email protected] Sykes – Fundraising and Marketing Coordinator 04 938.0194 [email protected] Fromings – Educator04 938 0194 or 021 08686 [email protected]
Connect With Us
Making life better for all people affected by dementia | Kia piki te ora mo nga tangata mate porewarewa
2015 Education“Welcome to my World”: Are you supporting a person with a dementia (and would like to be better informed)?This 3 session course will assist you to:• Learnaboutthecausesandsymptomsofdementia• Understandthechangesinbehaviourthatmayoccur• Developyourskillsasacarer• Considerfinancialandlegalimplications• MeetothersinasimilarsituationDesigned specifically for family and friends of a person with dementia, it will be most beneficial for those on the early days or months of a journey with Alzheimers disease or another dementia.Dates and areas 2015 are as follows:
Kapiti: March 11, 18, and 25 (Wednesdays), 10.30am – 2.30pm
Porirua: June 6, 13, 20th (Saturdays), 10.30am – 2.30pm
Wellington: August 18, September 1 & 8 (Tuesdays), 10.30am – 2.30pm To register for the course, or for more information, please contact Emma Fromings (see details under Connect with us). A koha for participation is greatly appreciated.
Supporter Groups
Alzheimers Wellington thanks the following current funders:
Kings Seeds Logo.pdf 1 4/07/13 8:52 AM
Aim: To provide a safe environment in which people who are supporting a person affected by a dementia can meet and share their experiences. Meeting together helps us to understand that we are not alone.
Evening Supporter Group3rd Thursday each month 7 - 9pm at 55 Hutt Road, Petone
Wellington Supporter Group2nd Monday each month 10am - Noon at Malvina Major,Burma Road, Johnsonville
Porirua Supporter Group2nd Thursday each month 10:30am – Noon at Kemp Home,Te Pene Avenue, Titahi Bay, Porirua
Kapiti Supporter GroupBi monthly on 2nd Thursday Feb, April, June, Aug, Oct1.30 - 3.30pm at Kapiti Community Centre, 15 Ngahina St, Paraparaumu
Waikanae Supporter GroupBi monthly on 2nd ThursdayMar, May, Jul, Sept, Nov1.30 - 3.30pm at Parklands Social Centre, Off Sylvan Ave., Waikanae
Found on the Net: (we use google to shorten some address’s)http://yourbrainmatters.org.au/your-brain-matters-resourceshttp://goo.gl/Z6Kh6Y- children feature in a UK TV series about how dementia affects them
Hutt Valley Masonic Lodge, Hinemoa-Kairangi Lodge
The dementia train
A lottery ticket Lost inside an MRI machine
Results that reach into your soul
A pass for the dementia train Slowly taking off
Speeding around corners
It stops at the station But no way to get off
And no one can get on
No fat controller here Controlling the ride of my life
Taking me to nowhere
Kate Swaffer
Lions Club of Waikanae
