Dementia Care, Admiral Nurse News and Update

In September 2012 I walked part of the Great Wall of China in support of Dementia UK, Admiral Nurses.
 

I recall my experiences, in words with photos, in the ebook 'Scaling the Dragon's Back' which is available from Amazon for Kindle at the new price of $2.99 or £1.99, that's less that the cost of a cup of coffee.  

Available on other formats from www.theendlessbookcase.com

                                                              

Or, help to develop the growth of the Admiral Nursing service, make a direct  donation to Dementia UK.

Why we need to help and support Dementia UK

• One in three people over the age of 65 will develop dementia. And as life expectancy increases, more and more people will be affected.
• 225,000 people will develop dementia in the UK this year - one person every three minutes.
• Dementia is the leading cause of death for women in England and Wales
• There are more than 40,000 people in the UK under the age of 65 who have dementia.
• An estimated 670,000 family and friends act as primary carers to someone with dementia. They are likely to have higher than normal levels of stress and report higher levels of depression than carers of other older people.

What Admiral Nurses do

Admiral Nurses can support families from the point of diagnosis to post bereavement. They are able to work with families who have complex needs and provide specialist support and advice, giving families the knowledge to understand the condition and its effects, and the skills to improve communication and behaviours. They also provide specialist emotional and psychological support through periods of difficulty in the dementia journey when carers are under the most stress and in danger of suffering a breakdown e.g. at diagnosis; through physical and behavioural changes; moving a loved one into residential care; during end of life care and bereavement.

Living with the effects of dementia can have a significant negative impact on the families’ mental health and well-being. Admiral Nurses work with both the person living with dementia and the family carer, supporting family carers in the following ways by;

• Focusing on the needs of the family carer developing coping strategies.  
• Helping families better understand dementia developing skills to improve communication and cope with feelings of loss and bereavement as the condition deteriorates.

  The help and support of an Admiral Nurse is only a phone call away

Dementia UK runs a national helpline, Admiral Nursing Direct, that can be contacted on 0845 257 9406 or direct@dementiauk.org. It is open Monday to Friday, 9.15-4.45 and provides practical advice and emotional support for families living with the effects of dementia.

   History of Admiral Nurses

      Admiral Nurses were named in memory of Joseph Levy CBE BEM who had vascular dementia and was known as “Admiral Joe” by his family and friends due to his love of sailing. Joseph Levy’s family established the charity.

Congratulations You Are Now A Published Author

Congratulations You Are Now A Published Author…

Taking a call from my e-book publisher back in December 2013 which informed me I was ‘published’ made me feel an enormous sense of achievement I had fulfilled a lifelong ambition of writing a book and having it published.  Just as important I would continue to raise funds for my chosen charity through the sales of my book.  Or so I thought.

I had considered the self-publishing option but lacked the technical knowledge and confidence to do so.  Having found a publisher who gave me feedback that there was a market for the subject matter of the book helped my confidence enormously. 

My book is a travelogue of my experiences when trekking part of The Great Wall and describes my observations of visiting China and thoughts on seeing The Forbidden City, Summer Palace and Terracotta Warriors.  The trip was life changing for me.  

I undertook the Trek to support the work of Dementia UK, Admiral Nurses.  My fundraising had been successful and I hoped the e-book would be a way of continuing to raise funds.  Fifteen months later I have sold just 15 copies of my e-book titled ‘Scaling The Dragon’s Back’, that is 1 copy for each month of its publication.

As at October last year having sold only 13 copies I decided to have a marketing push, promoting the book with a 50% price reduction in the run up to the Christmas festive period. I hoped perhaps people would have more time to read over the holiday period and be searching for an e-book to purchase for the i-pad or tablet they had received as a Christmas present.

A Consultant helped me to draw up a marketing plan.  A big part of my marketing strategy was a concentrated promotional campaign on Twitter.  In a three week period in the lead up to Christmas I posted 4 relevant tweets a day.  Mike Smith, Beezeebooks, and ASMSG members were very helpful in retweeting many of my Tweets.  Additionally, Dementia UK and other dementia related organisations retweeted at least once.  The sale was also promoted on my Facebook page.  I had hoped all of this activity would generate a few sales, and sure enough it did generate a few sales; 2!  Imagine my disappointment 2 e-book sales from all of my and others efforts.

The few reviews of the book posted on Amazon and other e-book sites had been good; four or five stars.  And feedback was that my book was an enjoyable read, and informative.  I am left to wonder whether I chose the right format for the book as it includes many illustrative photographs, perhaps it would have better sold as a coffee table printed book for readers to browse at their leisure reading small chunks. Most of all I am disappointed for my chosen Charity who supported my book all the way.

So what am I to take from this learning experience?  Is my experience typical of unknown e-book authors?  Would it have been better to go for the traditional printed format?  Does social media have any impact on sales?  I really would be genuinely interested to hear of the experiences of other writers. 

The e-book is available from Amazon for Kindle, Barnes and Noble for Nook, on Kobo and for all other formats from www.theendlessbookcase.co.uk 

Excellent news for dementia care as Dementia UK, Admiral Nurse numbers continue to grow.

Great news, the number of Admiral Nurses to grow by 50 per cent for Dementia UK's 20th Anniversary.


It has been 20 years since Admiral Joe's family set up the Admirall Nurse service dedicated to helping people with dementia and their carers. To mark the anniversary, and to make the biggest impact for families affected by the condition, Dementia UK aims to increase the number of Admiral Nurses by 50 per cent - from 140 to 210 nurses across the country - by the end of 2016.

"We're pleased to announce that we've appointed four new Admiral Nurses this week in West Sussex." Hilda Hayo, Chief Admiral Nurse, says: "There are not enough Admiral Nurses, and Dementia UK is striving for more Admiral Nurses who are evenly geographically spread across the UK. We will only achieve the appointment of more Admiral Nurses by the government, health and social services, and charities working together – the initiative in the north of West Sussex is proof of this.”

But this is not the only news to celebrate as ...


SweetTree, the private home care provider, in partnership with Dementia UK, has appointed a dedicated Admiral Nurse for North London.

Based at the North London office, Admiral Nurse Rikki Lorenti will offer expert advice, information, and psychological support to family carers and clients living with dementia. 

Rikki commented: “SweetTree has given me this amazing opportunity to develop a service which complements and develops the current care packages it offers. Providing psychological support and facilitating carers to continue caring for their loved ones is so important; we are enabling families to stay together. I have the best job in the world!”

Hilda Hayo, Chief Admiral Nurse and Chief Executive, Dementia UK comments: “The appointment of Rikki as an Admiral Nurse to SweetTree is an example of how the role of an Admiral Nurse can be adapted to fit with any service provider’s model of care. Dementia UK is finding that more carers want to be able to keep their loved one living at home for as long as possible, and having an Admiral Nurse, like Rikki, in the North London community will enable carers to do this.”

Nicki Bones, Operations Director of SweetTree and a dementia specialist, said: “The role an Admiral Nurse plays in helping family carers is hugely beneficial to those lucky few who can gain access to them.  By offering our clients access to an Admiral Nurse we will be building on the life changing care and support that our dementia team currently provides.”

 Please consider donating to Dementia UK to support the work of Admiral Nurses at https://www.justgiving.com/dementiauk/Donate/