Respite and moving to residential care

DemTalks

Participants in this episode:

Triona Keane – Member of the Dementia Carers Campaign Network.

Triona is originally from Cork but now lives in Dublin with her husband. Triona’s Dad, John, was

diagnosed with Lewy Body Dementia in May 2022. John was cared for at home by his loving wife, his

sons and his daughter, with his brothers and sister also providing support. While in hospital for

something else, hospital staff deemed John unsuitable to be cared for at home and John was moved

to residential care in October 2022. Triona emphasises that just because your loved one has moved

to a nursing home, it does not mean your caring journey stops. New challenges arise, new issues

present themselves, and the worry doesn’t stop.

Carmel Geoghegan – Member of the Dementia Carers Campaign Network.

Carmel has a background in community development and has been advocating for and involved in

devising innovative community responses to issues since the early 1990s.

Carmel became primary carer to her mum Angela in 2010. Angela received a very late diagnosis of

vascular/frontal temporal dementia and Carmel cared for her mother until the end of life. This life

changing experience began Carmel’s advocating for the voice of persons with a disability and the

primary carer/family.

She established Dementia Ireland Empowering Communities with an emphasis on education to

reduce the misunderstanding attached to a diagnosis and empower those affected to voice their

needs and fears and to be involved in the decisions that affect them. This advocacy work centres on

the importance of including the voice of the person in all interactions relating to them.

Nora Owen – former Minister for Justice.

Nora Owen was a politician in Ireland for more than 20 years, starting with her election to the Dublin

County Council in 1979. She was elected to the Dáil in 1981-2002 where she chaired the

Parliamentary Overseas Aid Committee and vice-chaired the Foreign Affairs Committee. She also

served as Spokesperson for the Opposition in several portfolios. She was appointed Deputy Leader

of the Fine Gael Party in 1993-2001 and was Minister of Justice from 1994 to 1997.

Nora has presented Midweek on TV3 and contributes regularly to TV and radio programmes.

Nora’s husband Brian was diagnosed with vascular dementia in 2005, and Nora cared for Brian at

home until he moved to residential care in 2018. Sadly, Brian passed away in 2020.

Norma Sheehan – former Director of Nursing at St Joseph’s residential home in Dublin

RGN; RGM; Dip. Man.; BNS; MSc Health Services Man

Norma has nearly 40 years of general nursing experience, mainly in the acute sector. She worked in

ICU and the Liver Transplant Unit in St Vincent’s University Hospital in Dublin, and she managed the

Acute Care of the Elderly Unit in St Vincent’s for 3 years. She was Assistant Director of

Nursing/Medical Nurse Manager in Wexford General Hospital for 6 years.

In 2012, Norma became Director of Nursing in St Joseph’s Shankill, in Dublin, a residential home for

60 people living with dementia. After Norma’s arrival, St Joseph’s underwent a major transformation

both culturally and environmentally. Moving from a traditional style, medical model nursing home

into six new homes or ‘lodges’, Norma introduced a person-centred, psychosocial model of care; the

Dementia Care Matters; Butterfly Model of Care. The primary focus in St Joseph’s is on quality of life

and the person’s feelings and wellbeing. Norma retired in March 2021.

The Alzheimer Society of Ireland Helpline: 1800 341 341

[e-mail]

www.alzheimer.ie

Hidden Hearing: 1800 882 884

www.hiddenhearing.ie

Book recommended during this episode of the podcast – Dementia and Sensory Challenges by Agnes

Houston.

The Forget Me Nots Choir

www.forgetmenots.ie