Reg and Betty - A Dementia Care Case Study *

Reg and Betty were a couple in their early nineties living in their family home in Stubbington. They both had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease and were struggling with a range of day to day living activities.

They needed support to prepare meals, prompting to maintain their medication regime, prompting to wash and shower regularly and change clothes and general household support.

Reg and Betty's family had commissioned a local home care provider to support them both but were increasingly dissatisfied with the service.

Issues they noted included:

Mealtimes were sometimes chaotic as Reg and Betty were taking all their meals on trays sat on the sofa watching television.
The care staff supporting Reg and Betty were often late to arrive and were not always familiar with their needs and preferences.
Call times were inconsistent from day to day which made both Reg and Betty anxious.
Inconsistent support from multiple care staff who had no briefing on Reg and Betty's situation

Feedback to the family indicated that Reg and Betty often declined support with washing, showering and changing clothes.

We were asked to take over support for Reg and Betty to improve the quality of care and to make improvements to their general well-being.

Our first step was to identify a small team that could provide consistent support to Reg and Betty over 3 visits a day 7 days a week.

After identifying the team we arranged a meeting with all the family members.

This meeting had two purposes; to ensure that the family had a chance to meet with the team and to ensure that the team had the opportunity to ask questions about Reg and Betty's needs, likes, preferences and habits.

Once support had started we achieved the following outcomes within 4 weeks:

*Call times of 9am, 1pm and 5pm were strictly observed and monitored for compliance using our electronic systems.
*Reg and Betty were taking all their meals together at the dining room table and there was an obvious difference in the quality of their interaction with each other in a quieter environment.
*Betty was pleased to have familiar Care Professionals help her to wash and dress each morning.
*A routine was established to support Reg in the shower twice a week and his family noticed an obvious improvement in his general appearance.
*Reg and Betty's family noted improvements in their well-being, mood and general contentment
*Improved social interaction with each other, family members and the Care Professional team

Reg and Betty's son, Pete*, had this feedback three months after our support had commenced:


"Many thanks for all your efforts with mum and dad. Please pass on our appreciation to all the ladies at the “coal face”.

They do a tremendous job in what is often difficult and trying circumstances. You have certainly changed their, and our, lives for the better”.

We know how difficult it can be to source the right support for a loved one.

We hope this case study will give you an insight into how we can support clients to remain at home, the place they love best.

* Please note all names have been changed for reasons of confidentiality and the images are not of real clients.