Admiral Nurses

In the UK, the quality of post-diagnostic care and support for people with dementia and their family carers is variable and depends on the availability of services in each person's local area. This article considers the support services available for families affected by dementia and discusses how telephone helplines can assist those who may have no access to other types of support. It presents a case study describing a call to the Admiral Nurse Dementia Helpline, a service run by nurses with expertise in dementia care and provided by the charity Dementia UK.

A significant number of informal carers look after people who have dementia. Women's caring experiences are well documented. However, a substantially smaller amount of research exists specifically investigating the male carer perspective. This literature review explores older husbands' experiences of caring for their wives who have dementia. The findings suggest that husbands are committed to their caring role but can feel socially isolated. The caring role of older men has altered the dynamic in the marriage.

Background: The number of older people living with dementia is increasing.

Services for people with dementia and their families in England are commissioned with a lack of integration and an inconsistent approach creating gaps in service provision. Therefore, families affected by dementia are not receiving the appropriate care in a timely manner and often access support at crisis point. This reactive and crisis driven approach to care is costly financially and can have a negative impact and quality of life of those affected.

Dementia UK and The Charity for Civil Servants teamed up to test the acceptability and feasibility of delivering a work-based Admiral Nurse clinic to support family carers during their employed working hours. This paper presents some of the learning from this innovative approach.