A trip to Parliament…

Westminster, London.

(with London Eye in background!)

Before you start reading please remember that I do have difficulties with remembering and getting specific facts about things 100% correct… But these are my thoughts as I remember them.

It was cool inside Westminster building with great stone vaulted ceilings and carvings. My daughter and I stood looking down at our feet at the brass plaques declaring that Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother had lain in state at that spot. Other plaques gave the names going back.  Along the sides down steps are rooms like cellars with stone arches in the walls and a broad arched window letting in light. Alice from the Alzheimer’s Society led us to the end room where tables were pushed together surrounded by chairs. I was seated at the top along side Debbie Abrahams MP the Chair of the group, who is the Labour MP for Oldham East & Saddleworth. The room filled up mainly with men, interesting that there were so few women amongst these people.

I was invited by the Alzheimer’s Society to attend a meeting in Westminster to discuss strategies for having an holistic review during the yearly dementia review with your GP.
The meeting started with Andrew Boaden, Senior Policy Officer, Alzheimer’s Society giving an overview of the inquiries findings and the recommendations to Developing a GP-led annual holistic review for people living with dementia and comorbidities.    Then I was given my 5 minutes to talk about my personal experience of living with dementia and fibromyalgia taking some questions afterwards which was good. My 5 minutes included the fact that I have never had a review because I have been told I need to make the appointments myself, which is hard for me to do because I have no sense of time scale and little memory to do so. Calendars do not work for me because I forget to look at them daily, and unless I do that ‘thing’ immediately and not ‘I need to do that today’, I always forget.

When the discussion got going I was concerned that I kept hearing the word ‘elderly’. No mention of younger people with dementia…they had seemingly forgotten my introduction where I specifically highlighted Younger People With Dementia.
Dr Martin McShane, National Clinical Director for Long Term Conditions, NHS England spoke up that looking at ‘risk’ was a more important than reviews.
I wanted to say okay, but how do you know who is at risk if you don’t have any reviews? Sadly there was a long list of hands showing to speak so that it did not give me time.
I also wanted to say about those living alone and how an holistic could benefit them.
I did talk about my co-morbidities: Fibromyalgia, IBS, and said how times when my Fibro is flaring with lack of sleep, Fibro fog can mimic the confusion of dementia. If in a review it is not taken into account my dementia could be seen as worsening with confusion, but in reality it is my Fibromyalgia, which means that my lessens when my fibro has reduced.
It was interesting listening to them talk at a higher level, because these are the people who make the changes in the health system. Not sure they were convinced yet, apart from one person Dr Andrew Green GP clinical and prescribing subcommittee Chair, British Medical Association (BMA) who described how something very similar is working extremely well in his northern practice. Funded in a different way, it sounded like it was meeting this need already giving everybody, not just those with dementia, an holistic review on a regular basis. Sadly he also spoke NHS funding cuts would mean, this service would be a casualty of it.
All of the 6 women(out of 16) brought up equally important questions and discussion, and listening around the room at everybody I could hear that everyone has their own agenda according to their expertise and involvement.
At four on the dot the meeting was over and the next group was eager to get into the room to start theirs.
I talked to Alice, I enjoyed being here, this was good, I tell her, and we talk about other things I can get involved with………Oh this is not over yet, she answers, so watch this space..!

Author: Gill

I photograph things that take my eye. View all posts by Gill