13th April 2007 - Friday 13th indeed

There's a new lady. She's finding it hard to settle in. She's pretty together and some of the staff are treating her as if her dementia were further progressed than it is. And probably soon will be, especially if she stays in there for long. She's not being asked meal choices, being fobbed off when she asks to go out or when she wants to go to her room. So she barricades herself in, stacks chairs behind the door. She's on her way to being labelled as difficult and shipping off to a hospital. Surely each of the homes should have someone experienced or qualified above a checklist level to assess someone's level of care need? The needs of the residents change on a day to day basis - usually they worsen but not always. Sometimes dementia looks worse than it is due to dehydration, drug regime change, other illness, depression, all sorts of things. And sometimes, just sometimes, people play up. I would. If I knew everyone around me thought I was off my trolley, that I was locked up and was going nowhere, if I knew I was dying, I reckon I might play up just a tad too. I'd barricade myself in, I'd swear and shout, not waving but drowning. Go on yersel, new wummin. Barricade yersel in, cuss and swear, gie it laldy.

Friday the 13th and the new wummin will be hauled out once the handyman and the male orderlies move the obstacles. "I cannae dae it, I've got ma monthlies and I walked unner a ladder this morning - this morn of aw morn's I ask ye. It's no that I believe aw that, but there's got tae be sumhink in it. You every watch that Derek Acorah? Now you tell me there's no sumhink in it. He's amazin' him is he naw?" Tweedle tells me. "An Annie cannae dae it n'aw. She's on light duties efter that wummin in the other unit wi the one eye bit her on the nose".