Thanks to Kate Swann, Practice Education Trainer, at Aldeburgh Hospital for contacting me a while ago to see if Peter and I could deliver a talk to the team on their staff training day. Alas, we were so busy wowing the team that one of us (let's keep that vague) forgot to take the mandatory photo of our presentation.
Although our talks have a vague structure to them and there are a few key points we cover, given the nature of Peter's memory, there are always tweaks to be made or challenges to be overcome. This, in itself, is a great demonstration of how the people around a person with dementia have to be responsible for making the changes to accommodate that person's altering needs.
Peter is keen for others to realise this and has, in fact, asked me to mention this in future talks. As he says, he might still look like a shiny, enticing shop window but the chaos in the storeroom is not diminishing. If anything, the disarray and the soiled goods are beginning to pile up a little higher and wobble more precariously. Peter does not want people to be under any misconception about the gritty, dirty reality of his dementia and the increased prevalence of the dementia monster.
Having said that, we had some wonderful feedback after our talk ("the best training day ever" being one of them) and the satisfaction of seeing the formation of a mini-queue to purchase "Slow Puncture" and "Walk with Me". Most satisfyingly of all, several people said they were going to reflect on and reconsider the way they talked with their patients or just try to uncomplicate some of the elements around their practice.
And that, quite simply, is the best outcome for all of our talks.
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