AS PART of this week’s Dementia Awareness Week, a specialist nurse caring for people in Worcestershire with the condition has spoken about her role.

Admiral Nurses – mental health nurses specialising in dementia care – provide practical and emotional support not only patients but also those who care for them in their day-to-day lives.

In the UK there are about 800,000 people with dementia, about half of whom do not know they have the condition.

Carole Anderson – who was a community mental health nurse and now works as an Admiral Nurse working for Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust – said it was her job to tailor care to patient’s individual needs and those of their family.

“We provide them with the knowledge to understand the condition and its effects, the skills and tools to improve communication and provide emotional and psychological support to help them to continue caring for the person with dementia,” she said.

“Admiral Nurses focus on the needs of the family and give them psychological support to understand and manage their thoughts and feelings about the condition and how to adapt to the changing situation whilst maintaining existing relationships.

“We use a range of specialist interventions that help people live well with dementia and help families cope with feelings of loss as the condition progresses.

“We provide advice on referrals to other appropriate services and liaise with other healthcare professionals on behalf of the family to enable the needs of family carers and people with dementia to be addressed in a co-ordinated way.”

Dementia Awareness Week is an annual campaign run by the UK Alzheimer’s Society.

For more information on Admiral Nurses call 0300 123 1734 from Monday, June 1.