Will Marie Curie help with advanced dementia care? My uncle (92) is caring for my aunt (91) who has advanced dementia. She is double incontinent, has lost her speech, shouts and screams for hours until exhausted etc. She is very frail. My uncle has a heart condition and has no help at all. He has tried to get someone to stay overnight so that he can get some sleep but no one is available. Is there any help out there please?
Hello Deborah52
I am sorry to read about your Aunt’s condition, and the difficulties your Uncle is having whilst trying to access overnight care for her.
Our Marie Curie nursing service provides end of life care to people living with any terminal illness. Our services are commissioned by the NHS, and vary from area to area. Your Aunt’s GP or district nurse will be able to make a referral for our services, should it be appropriate to do so. You can find more about our nursing services on our website: https://bit.ly/2AfWAUy
Another option may be for enquiries to be made with your Aunt’s GP or social services to ascertain if there are any other night care services available in the area where they live.
You may already be aware of Dementia UK Admiral Nurses who provide specialist dementia support, and may be available in the area where your Aunt lives. They can be contacted on 0800 888 6678, or you can find more information on their website here: https://bit.ly/2yCeJHR .
Here at Marie Curie, our Freephone Support Line is also here to offer a listening ear and emotional support, to anyone affected by a terminal illness, you can reach us on Freephone 0800 090 2309.
Best Wishes
Nikki
Marie Curie Support Line Team
Thank you for your helpful reply. Unfortunately the GP and social services have been unable to help - they say they have no-one available!! He is willing to pay for any help but he can’t find anyone who is willing to stay overnight. I will try the other contacts you have provided - thanks again
Hi Deborah52.
If your uncle is in a position to be able to afford to pay for care then we are aware of an available search engine on the following website:https://portal.ukhca.co.uk/FindProvider/FindProvider.aspx
On this engine you can specify that you are looking for agency that provides a night sitting service. This does not mean that we endorse the agencies listed here, and you may want to look at the http://www.cqc.org.uk/ too look for reports and ratings of these agencies before making any decisions.
Best Wishes
Brigette
Marie Curie Support Line