Action needed to stop care home residents ‘dying from loneliness' with dementia in Nottinghamshire

Lack of contact from their loved ones means people with dementia are deteriorating at a much faster rate.

The Alzheimer’s Society is urging its supporters in Nottinghamshire to sign a letter calling on the Government to set out a clear timetable for the re-introduction of ‘meaningful visits’ from loved ones for people living in care homes, where at least 70 per cent of residents have dementia.

Its new campaign ‘Wait until May? No Way!’ highlights the importance of such visits which, it says, are vital to the health and wellbeing of people living with dementia.

Nasim Minhas, Alzheimer’s Society’s area manager for Nottinghamshire, said: “When visits have happened, they all too often fail to meet the needs of people with dementia.

“While progress on vaccinating care home residents is welcome, we are concerned that low vaccination rates for care home staff will further delay the re-introduction of meaningful visits for residents and their loved ones.

“This lack of contact from their loved ones means people with dementia are deteriorating at a much faster rate than they would otherwise. They are not just dying due to Covid-19. They are also dying from loneliness.

“We need the public to sign our online letter to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, so care home residents can be reunited with their loved ones at the earliest possible opportunity.”

Tragically, at the height of last year’s lockdown there was an additional unexplained rise in dementia deaths beyond those who died from the virus.

An Alzheimer’s Society survey involving almost 2,000 respondents affected by dementia shows that since being forced to stay isolated and inside their homes, more than four in five reported a deterioration in people with dementia’s symptoms.

The nature of dementia is that if people are not using their skills, they quickly lose them.

The society’s letter demands the Government prioritises care home visits as part of its roadmap to ease lockdown.

The online letter can be accessed and signed through the charity’s website at alzheimers.org.uk/coronavirus-campaigns.