Caring for someone with dementia

When someone you love is diagnosed with dementia, there’s a lot to think about. In many cases, there will have been a level of care happening before the diagnosis, and it’s almost certain that the levels of care needed will increase over time.

Whether you are a spouse, partner, child, other relative or friend, caring for someone with dementia is a daunting prospect. Most people have never had significant caring duties, and dementia has plenty of challenges to manage. Of course, you will want your loved one to be independent for as long as possible, and you may need to consider getting some additional support as time goes on – either through home care help, respite care or a care home that specialises in dementia.

Going it alone

We know that a lot of carers tend to fall into the role as dementia starts to become more obvious, and certainly once there is a diagnosis. And so the carer picks up a huge amount of responsibility and devotes a lot of time and energy to giving the best quality of care they can.

This is hard to do on your own. So, our best piece of advice is to get some support – for you and for your loved one. There are national charities like the Alzheimer’s Society that have lots of resources and offer practical support, and there will be local groups and charities that specifically support people with dementia and their carers.

This can be anything from offering community groups where you can meet other carers and encourage your loved one to get out and about, to people who can help you apply for social support like Carers Allowance and Attendance Allowance. By looking for support, you can build a community and network that can help you to manage your new role.

Your loved one’s GP should also be able to provide support, and can signpost you to some of the local services that might be able to help.

Putting things in place

Receiving a dementia diagnosis is a shock to everyone, and it means you have to readjust some of your thinking about the years ahead. For that reason, it’s important to make sure that you have the right things in place to help manage the condition and to continue to give your help and support as the dementia progresses.

This includes making sure that you have a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) in place. An LPA is put in place by an individual, who nominates trusted people to make financial and health-related decisions on their behalf when they are no longer able to make those decisions themselves. Everyone should have an LPA in place, because it’s a safeguard – and it’s particularly important when someone has a dementia diagnosis. So make sure that an LPA and a will and any other necessary documents are put in place while your loved one is able and happy to make decisions – this will make things much easier to manage in the long term.

Looking after yourself

Taking on the full-time care of another person – especially someone close to you – is a big responsibility. It brings with it a range of feelings and emotions that you will need to manage. So it’s important to look after yourself too. That’s where a respite care home might be useful – giving you a break overnight or for a weekend – and also where other family members, community groups, online support groups and even therapy can be important. Caring can be a positive and fulfilling role, but only if you can balance looking after your loved one with looking after yourself.