Hucknall woman encourages people to share experiences of living with dementia to help others

Christine Eagle, 71, saw her husband, Arthur, 74, diagnosed with dementia in 2019 and had been caring for him until recently when she made the difficult decision for him to go into a care home.

She said: “He had some symptoms but I just thought he was getting older.

"It started with repeating anecdotes to friends and then he started to lose his sense of direction.

“It all built up and so we went to the GP where we were told to keep a diary.

"We were referred to the memory clinic who diagnosed Arthur after doing cognitive tests.

“I think it was a struggle to accept the diagnosis and there was almost a denial.

"Before the pandemic we would still do every day activities like going to the cinema or out for lunch but it slowly became harder, especially during lockdown.”

Christine said she has found a lot of online support during the pandemic.

However, she says that she thinks the best support will always be face-to-face.

Over the last two years, the couple have used local services for support such as dementia choirs, cognitive therapy as well as lots of local groups, meetings and day centres.

Christine added: “I filled out a survey on my experience in order to help shape the future care in Nottinghamshire I will always do anything I can to provide feedback or research as anything I can do to help the future or potentially make things easier and find a cure can only be a good thing.”

Nottingham and Nottinghamshire CCG and ICS is working with patients, carers, health and care professionals to shape the future service provision for the Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Dementia Well Pathway.

As part of this work a period of engagement is taking place to understand the experiences of all those living with dementia in Nottinghamshire and to help understand how the service can be improved.

You can find out more about how you can share your views here.

The CCG is also encouraging all those living with dementia as well as carers, health professionals and charities to share their views via a survey here.