Category: Clinical Services

A range of dementia care services are available to East Cheshire Hospice patients.

They include one-to-one sessions, either at the Hospice or at home, if appropriate.

Admiral Nurse Debbie Callow said: “Generally we pick up on people who come to the Hospice and need more attention.

“This could be on the ward, via the Hospice @Home service, or through our dementia activities. We identify if those diagnosed, or the carer, needs additional support.”

An eight-week well-being programme for carers, which began in 2015, is popular. Topics include understanding dementia, benefits, legal aspects, stress, diet and nutrition and community support.

East Cheshire Hospice offers a range of dementia services.

The Hospice also has a companion service. Trained volunteers take out a patient for a couple of hours, giving carers vital respite.

Monthly singing groups, featuring live entertainment and dancing, are always well attended. Debbie said: “Someone may be losing their ability to have a conversation and forgetting certain words, but put a song on and they can remember all the words.

“That’s because the brain remembers anything with rhythm differently to everyday language. Singing helps trigger memories.”

Another activity is Love to Move, a seated exercise for over 55s described as ‘brain gymnastics.’ It improves communication, mobility, stamina and well-being.

Dementia nurse Paul Dale said: “To access Hospice services someone needs a diagnosis. They can either self-refer, or be referred by a health care professional.

“The most common symptoms are short-term memory loss, personality changes and language difficulties.”

* For general inquiries contact the Hospice dementia team on 01625 666990.

East Cheshire Hospice has strengthened its dementia team to cope with increasing demand.

Experienced mental health specialist Paul Dale has joined as a dementia nurse, enabling the charity to offer extra support to patients.

The Hospice set up its own dedicated dementia service in 2019, with Admiral Nurse Debbie Callow appointed as lead.

Paul Dale and Debbie Callow, the East Cheshire Hospice dementia team.

The illness affects 5,730 people over the age of 65 in Cheshire East, according to the NHS.

The region has a higher percentage of elderly people than anywhere in the country – 18 per cent compared to 16 elsewhere.

Covid delayed Hospice plans to expand dementia care, but with services back to normal it is now hoping to build on them.

Debbie said: “We’ve many ideas how we can expand and help even more people, subject to funding.

“These include taking our services out into communities and making them more accessible, so people don’t always have to come to the Hospice.”

Growing demand for Hospice dementia services illustrates the scale of the problem, explaining why the charity wants to do more.

Debbie said: “People are living longer so there’s more likelihood of developing dementia, although you can still get it when you’re younger.

“Awareness is improving and people are more willing to go to the doctors. Medical advances mean there are now cures for some other illnesses, but sadly not yet for dementia.

“Dementia is playing catch up compared to cancer, with care about 20 years behind cancer care in terms of research and support.”

The Hospice has the country’s senior expert on dementia, Professor Alistair Burns CBE, as a Patron. Prof Burns, formerly of Macclesfield, is the National Clinical Director for Dementia and Older People’s Mental Health at NHS England and NHS Improvement.

Hospice patron Professor Alistair Burns CBE.

Debbie said: “I know Prof Burns was quite impressed when he first came on board with what we were already doing.

“In terms of hospice care for dementia, I do feel like East Cheshire is leading the way and having someone at such a high level has helped give us a push.”

Paul has spent more than three decades working in mental health care, mostly in East Cheshire.

He said: “I referred patients to the Hospice in my previous role, so was already aware of its programmes and services.

A free monthly legal clinic is one way East Cheshire Hospice helps patients and families prepare for the future.

Advice on making a Will is among topics covered by Moneybox Wills and Trusts, Thorneycroft, Dunkerley and GPW Trusts, the four companies supporting the initiative.

The half-hour advice sessions are available between 11 am and 1 pm every second Friday of the month at the Hospice.

To register for the next clinic on May 13 call 01625 665685, or email dcoffice@echospice.org.uk.

During Dying Matters Week, Joe Etherington, Head of Wills and Trusts at Bollington-based Moneybox, is encouraging  people to consider making a Will.

Joe Etherington outside the Moneybox Wills and Trusts offices in Bollington.

Joe said: “It’s important people get qualified advice as there are so many misunderstandings, myths and out-of-date ideas.

“There’s a shift towards people being more open about making a Will, but not enough of one. That resistance over speaking about Wills is partly because people are unwilling to face their own mortality.

“They think if it’s 40 years away, why bother now? Half still don’t realise the law decides what happens to their possessions when they die and they think their family can deal with it.

“A lot have a second relationship now and don’t realise until making a new Will that in getting re-married they may have accidentally disinherited their children.”

Will Week each October sees solicitors waive fees in lieu of a donation to the Hospice. East Cheshire also encourages families and patients to plan for their future through its bereavement and Sunflower Centre services.

Find out more about Dying Matters Awareness Week.