Madam,

I read with interest in the health news that Hywel Dda Health Board have very generously donated £12,000 to a new scheme for the care of those with cancers of the head and neck. Laudable indeed.

However, should you be unfortunate to be suffering from another condition which affects the head, and indeed the whole person and all the family - that is dementia, which is the fastest growing medical condition in Ceredigion - be prepared to go it alone, to paddle your own canoe.

There is currently no care whatsoever, following diagnosis, for those in this incredibly challenging situation.

The reality is that after what is often a complex and lengthy diagnostic pathway, the patient is issued with a bottle of pills and told to “see your GP if you have any problems”.

And that is another health problem, the shortage of GPs. This is hardly helpful or indeed appropriate.

So we set out on this lonely unknown voyage, traversing a journey full of unknown turns, inexplicable behaviour with unexpected outcomes, from the person we love the most, with no informed medical support. It is quite unbelievable.

The Alzhiemer’s Society was very good, but currently there are no carers groups, there is no regular support network or any organised activities.

The dementia nurse helpline is excellent (if you can get through) but the mental health team has no capacity and the consultant support is non-existent. A sad tale indeed.

So, find a 'desert island' if you can, and good friends and family if you are very lucky. But the painful truth is that what usually happens is that the carer gets exhausted, afraid, often threatened by the person they love the most and are trying to care for, and emergency health care has to be initiated, entailing loss of dignity, removal of choice, heartbreak and great expense to the health authority, then residential care is instigated.

Wake up and listen, Hywel Dda.

Provide specialist nursing care in the form of Admiral nurses. In the long run it would be a cost-saving investment, not to mention preventing heartache and further loss in the face of a terminal illness.

There is no cure for dementia sufferers or indeed their families and carers, but there could be a lot more support.

Anyone got a lifebelt?

Yours etc,

Lesley Pitchford, Felinfach.

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