Catherine McKinnell, MP for Newcastle North, has raised the concerns of award-winning local organisation, Dementia Care, during a debate held in Parliament today (12th April) on dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.
Catherine visited the Brunswick Village-based charity earlier this year, to hear more about their work in providing dementia care and support to those living with dementia, and the people who care for them, across Newcastle and the wider area. Dementia Care’s services include a day facility that runs five days a week, independent supported living specialised housing, residential respite care and specialist home support.
The Newcastle North MP, who is a committed Dementia Friend, also recently attended an event in Parliament to lend her support to the Alzheimer’s Society’s ‘Fix Dementia Care’ campaign, which calls for people with dementia to receive the highest standards of care wherever they are: in hospital, in a care home, or in the home, following a new report into poor levels of hospital care received by dementia patients.
Intervening during this morning’s debate, Catherine said:
‘This is such an important debate, and it is really important that we air all of these issues. It is about the simple things in many cases, but it spreads across a wide network.
‘One of the respite centre residents of Dementia Care – an excellent charity in my constituency – was recently admitted to hospital for a routine procedure but was not released from hospital until 3am, which threw their entire programme for the next day. More carers were needed to get them back into a routine. Simple things make a huge difference to such people and those who care for them.’
And commenting afterwards, Catherine said:
‘I was so impressed by what I saw when I visited Dementia Care, but treating dementia patients with dignity and respect requires properly joined-up services across the board.
‘We need to get to a point where the whole of society is dementia-friendly, but that’s particularly the case for those who are responsible for providing care to those affected by this incredibly challenging condition.
‘That’s why the Fix Dementia Care campaign, and the work done by charities like Dementia Care, are so important.’