Two leading healthcare charities have revealed they will be launching five research projects that will examine how palliative care can be improved for dementia patients.
The news, which was announced today (Monday 14th July), will see Marie Curie and Alzheimer’s Society work together. Currently, it is understood the partnership is worth around one million pounds.
Reasons for creating the partnership have been best described by Dr Richard Oakley, associate director of research and innovation at Alzheimer’s Society. He said: ‘Dementia is the UK’s biggest killer – yet when people with dementia reach their end of life, the care they receive falls short of meeting their individual and complex needs. Too often, the distressing reality for people with dementia is they face unmanaged pain, agitation, and breathlessness and die in places they never would have chosen, typically hospitals or care homes.’
To give context, figures from Marie Curie show how dire the state of palliative care is for people with dementia. The charity found just 25% of dementia patients receive specialist palliative support, compared to over 80% of those with cancer.
Against this backdrop, both charities are launching five pioneering research projects that aim to develop practical tools, training and guidelines to improve homecare support. Not only will this help patients and carers, but it is also likely the iniaitve will help reduce hospital admissions.
The research is also due to be overseen by academics from University College London, Kings College London and the University of Strathclyde.
Stuart Jennings, 67, works as the vice president of Alzheimer’s Society. He’s shared the story of his wife Carol who died from Alzheimer’s and claimed that while her end-of-life care was good, this unfortunately isn’t the case for many.
‘Carol and I were married for almost 50 years, and I was her carer for 12 – it was one of the greatest privileges of my life. Carol was warm, headstrong and confident,’ Stuart said.
‘We know exactly what good end-of-life care should entail, having had brilliant support from a range of carers, nurses and family members, but sadly, we know this is not a universal experience for many people living with dementia.
‘Getting good end-of-life care and support should not be a postcode lottery. It should be universal. We all have a right to spend our final moments in a place of our choosing, free of pain, with our needs and conditions fully understood.
‘I welcome this new research focusing on end-of-life care for people with dementia. I hope more people will be able access the quality of care and support we did at the end.’
Photo by juan daniel guzman zapata via UnSplash
In related news:
Parkinson’s vaccine could replace the need for daily tablets
Leave a Reply