23/05/2026
It's Dementia Awareness Week and we'd like to introduce a few members of the Aberdeenshire Team who support people and their families.
First up is Lewis!
What is your role?
We offer support for one year to patients who have been given a dementia diagnosis, then referred to the PDS department. The support is not only for the patient themselves, but for their family/support and/or care too.
The service is very person-centred and very varied, although we do work on the 5-Pillar approach- Supporting Community Connections, Peer Support, Planning for Future Care, Understanding the Illness and Managing the Symptoms & Planning for Future Decision-Making.
We make an initial home visit to meet the patient and family/support, where we can get a better understating of the needs to their respective situation. At this point we highlight the need for a Power of Attorney (POA) and assess if they require any referrals made, such as care management, OT, Tele-care and more. Here we also make a plan going forward with PDS input, where we’d plan on introducing the patient to local groups, charities and organisations, if they so wish and we make a plan on how frequent we stay in contact.
A big part of the role is to help all involved in each situation better understand the diagnosis and symptoms that may develop over time This can be a delicate subject, where some are not ready to have this discussion straightaway. This discussion can be offered throughout the year of PDS and in some cases the discussion is had several times.
We point and can register the patient’s care/support to the charities/organisations that are especially there to aid the carer/supporter. This is as, carer’s stress can be common in these situations, where we must try to reduce the risk of this happening.
Throughout the year of PDS, we can keep an eye on the situation and if needed, we can bring any issues or concerns to the trained members of the team, also to weekly MDT’s if required.
Once per year, one day per week for 5-6 weeks, we hold PDS groups. Each week we have a 3-4 speakers from different areas of the dementia sector, hold short presentation on their area of expertise, with a chance for some Q&A. These groups provide a fantastic opportunity for the family/care/support to interact with the diffident organisation to help them better understand who is there for them and to help them better plan for the future.
What do you love about your job when helping people to live well with dementia in Aberdeenshire?
Everyone deserves to have a good standard of living and enjoy themselves as best they can no matter their illness or disability.
If I can help raise their awareness to services that can help with improving their wellbeing and ability in or out of their home, than I feel extremely privileged. I also love being able to help their family/support with coping techniques to reduce stress and to potentially allow them to again see their loved one back to being themselves, even for a brief moment.
It’s tragic that the illness is progressive, so any help to the patient and their family is very much needed, no one wants the last days/years with their loved one to be a struggle.
