Tell us about Alzheimer’s Society and what your role is.

Alzheimer’s Society is the UK’s leading dementia charity. We campaign for change, fund research to find a cure and support people living with dementia today. Dementia is the UK’s biggest killer – someone develops it every three minutes and there are currently 850,000 people living with the condition in the UK.

My role is within the Legacies Team, we work to promote the importance of gifts in Wills to the charity. These incredibly special and personal gifts fund over a quarter of our work so they are absolutely vital for us to continue to help people affected by dementia.

What challenges have Alzheimer’s Society faced during the COVID-19 pandemic and what challenges have your supporters faced as a result? How have you overcome these challenges?

Living with dementia at any time brings challenges and the COVID-19 pandemic is making daily life much harder for many people living with dementia, their carers and their families. People with dementia have been the worst hit, accounting for more than a quarter of deaths, and many have been isolated from their communities and the networks they usually rely on. And of course many people are deeply concerned for their loved ones who may be particularly vulnerable to the virus itself, especially within care homes, with 70% of care home residents having dementia.

As a charity we have had to make changes to a number of our face to face services that support people affected by dementia in local communities. Our teams have worked hard to find innovative ways to reach those people most in need despite lockdown and social distancing  – conducting virtual sessions including our virtual “Singing for the brain” sing along, online meetings and delivering our Dementia Connect support service over the phone. Our frontline staff have made over 100,000 welfare calls to those in desperate need of support and we’ve also compiled the most up to date information on our website to give clear advice to those affected by dementia.

In terms of fundraising – many events such the London Marathon have been cancelled or postponed, which has affected our ability to raise money in the short term, however teams have also found new ways to raise these vital funds. For example, instead of hosting walks, our flagship Memory Walks will look a little different – we are asking people to complete their own walk wherever and whenever they choose in memory or celebration of a loved one. Cupcake Day has also become a virtual event that people can take part in at a time to suit them. We have also launched an emergency appeal which is helping to fund our vital support services.

In Legacies specifically, legacy gifts have become even more important than usual in these difficult times. As they are a stable stream of income to the charity and account for over a quarter of our income. They have been vital in allowing us to continue to support some of the most vulnerable in our society. But of course the Legacies team have also had to adapt to working virtually, as have our solicitor partners who have been finding innovative ways to support people in writing their Wills.

What difficulties do you foresee now we are coming out of lockdown and what support could help?

For people affected by dementia, the challenges of the pandemic are far from over. Of course none of us know exactly what will happen, but people with dementia are likely to continue to be seriously affected both by the direct and indirect effects of this pandemic. At the time of writing this, it’s also still unclear when face to face services will be able to resume safely for both our staff and service users.  However as a charity we are determined to raise awareness of the continued needs of people living with dementia in this pandemic – including holding the government to account on their decisions.

What message would you pass on to others?

Now more than ever is the time to support those causes most close to your heart – and we want to ensure Alzheimer’s Society can continue its vital work both in the short and long term. So whether it’s donating to our emergency appeal, taking on a virtual fundraising challenge, signing up to be a volunteer, or considering leaving a gift in your Will – people living with dementia need your help right now.

Jenny Platten, Legacy Marketing & Development Manager at Alzheimer’s Society | T: 07541 764855 | E: Jenny.Platten@alzheimers.org.uk

Tell us about Care Advice Centre and what you do.

Care Advice Centre is a friendly, approachable team of independent social workers with vast experience of working within Adult Social Care. This gives our assessors a good understanding of the care and support system which can be complex and difficult to navigate. Some of our services include completing Mental Capacity Assessments, Benefits Advice, Needs assessments in line with the Care Act 2014, to mention a few. More of the services we provide can be seen on our website.

What challenges have you / your clients faced during the COVID-19 pandemic?

As social work is involved with helping people live better lives, this is usually carried out in discussion with the person and pre-COVID this has always been in their specific living environment. During this pandemic it has not always been possible to visit people in their own homes or in care homes therefore a need to be creative with arranging assessments has been the new way of working.

Remote working has been a valued method of carrying out assessments. The virtual assessments have not always been appropriate for some people due to different reasons and therefore this has meant work needed to be postponed until such a time that access to the different environments can be gained.

Some of the care homes or family representatives have not always been able to facilitate virtual meetings, however for those that have been completed virtually this has been a useful tool.

How have you helped your clients overcome these challenges?

One of the biggest aids during this time has been the ability to have virtual meetings with those that are able. Some care home have been able to facilitate this with appointments arranged days in advance.

For some people it has been possible to meet in their back yard or socially distanced within the home environment.

What difficulties do you foresee now we are coming out of lockdown and what support could you offer?

Initially there might be a reluctance by people to meet in their homes and care homes might still be wary of having visitors in their care environments.

Support could be provided to people by reassuring them that as a professionals we consider other people’s health as well as our own and will continue to follow government guidelines.

What have been your highs and lows during the last 3 months?

The highs have been the willingness of some people trying to facilitate meetings even when they have not worked out as anticipated.

People appear to have been more tolerant during this time as they realise that everyone is in the same position.

There has been good joint working with professionals and family members.

There has also been a lot of phone advice with people calling back and requesting further support from Care Advice Centre.

There have been a lot of people realising they need to plan for the future and a surge in the number of people making contact for these different services.