Nearly time for Aussie

It is now just over 4 weeks until I fly to Australia on my Florence Nightingale study tour to see how they support people with dementia and their loved ones. Typical of me, I have filled nearly every day with visits, talks etc. and I'm very much looking forward to it. Im also getting used to getting up at 5am to SKYPE call.

The interesting thing for me as I progress on my leadership journey is how much like a roller coaster it is. I started off knowing what I thought I wanted and what I wanted to achieve. Now I feel as if I just keep changing my mind. I seem to bounce from one idea to the next, one career aspiration to another. And there's something quite nice about that. Life isn't always something you can plan for or organise in the same way you can a kitchen cabinet. It throws up all sorts of blips, challenges and opportunities and some of that depends on your willingness to "grab and go" when opportunities arise.

They say perseverance pays off and in my case it certainly has. At last Hounslow have been in touch regarding a dementia steering group. They've already spent their allocated funding in a mental health trust. Not the right thing in my view as I see dementia more of a chronic condition, a journey of living with and embracing the opportunity to stay well, stay at home and enjoy your life rather than a mental illness. Regardless of this, we have a moral duty and responsibility to work together to improve the lives of those we care for. Now my Trust is actively engaged,I hope that we can do this. Boundaries become barriers when they should simply be seen as a line on a map. We must work together and the steering group is striving to do this.

My project in Richmond is growing and developing. Our two new roles start on October 7th and their enthusiasm and commitment for the role is infectious. It's so great to see and hear their commitment and ideas.

I have also secured some really good enthusiasm and drive from Bucks University who want to engage with us on evaluating the project so that we ensure that learning is shared and cascaded. I want the roles to be so important that they are protected and fully funded in the future as well as being taken up by our other partners. In this way we will create a system wide approach to supporting those living with dementia rather than it being siloed into one patch only.

So as we near World Alzheimer’s week starting tomorrow, like pain, dementia is what the person with it or affected by it says it is. No two stories are the same and experiences vary. But each one must be respected, heard and understood. Every voice has a right to be heard, even if it can be difficult to hear.