I had the opportunity to work with Vincent the Admiral nurse on 23/11/23. Before meeting Vincent I was unsure of what an Admiral nurse is and their speciality. I learned that an Admiral nurse specialises in dementia. Their job role is to support families that have a loved one suffering from dementia. I understand that some families don’t understand what dementia is and the effects it can have on an individual; they can find it frustrating seeing their loved ones in some cases deteriorating and they don’t know how to deal with it.

Therefore an admiral nurse offers a free service to families that are in need of support, knowledge, skills and somebody to talk to. Families are able to self-refer and call the Admiral nurses for information, however, for a family to qualify under the admiral nurses and be taken as a “client”, the individual suffering from dementia has to live in the Sutton area and have complex needs. There are 3 complex needs that the individual/ family must meet which are, health, social and risk to be under the Admiral team.

I was able to attend a home visit with Vincent during my time with him. We met with a lovely lady whose husband is suffering from dementia and meets the 3 complex needs mentioned above. The individual also has an addiction to alcohol use and was a risk to himself. I understood that his health was being damaged by the alcohol which was making his dementia worse. He is a risk to himself as his wife reports he is getting himself into trouble, being found in parks beaten up and constantly being robbed for his money and shoes.

However, prior to and during the meeting the individual had been in the hospital for 6 weeks, due to being found in the park alone and under the influence of alcohol whilst his wife was on holiday. The benefit of the individual being in the hospital is that he is currently 6 weeks sober! His wife had reported that due to not being under the influence of alcohol his memory seemed to be better. The reason the individual had been in hospital for 6 weeks is because his wife didn’t want him at home as he wasn’t treating her very nicely. She said she could deal with the dementia but not the drinking.

Vincent explained that the individual couldn’t stay in the hospital any longer as he didn’t need to be there and of course, hospital beds are valuable to which the wife understood and agreed.

The end result of the meeting was that Vincent arranged for the individual to attend a club in Sutton twice a week to keep him busy and do things that he was interested in as a hobby which was, laying tables and helping people. On the basis that the individual doesn’t continue to drink,

the wife said she was happy for him to come back home and for the Admiral nurses to continue supporting her.

I understand that dementia is a progressive long-term condition that can sadly destroy families.